Black Hills snowmobilers found alive

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Update on missing snowmobilers:

Miraculously both men have been found, alive. They are currently being evacuated from the area and treated by medical personnel.

Assistance is no longer needed from volunteers. For any volunteers that were involved in the search, please report back to Rochford Volunteer Fire Department, so they can make sure that all searchers are accounted for.

Original story

Two men on snowmobiles have been reported missing west of Rochford in the Black Hills and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office asks snowmobilers to help in the search.

The men, Leon Kleingartner and Laurence Willett, both 73 years old, were last seen at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, at the Black Fox Campground, less than eight miles from Rochford. They were due to return by dusk and had left their phones at home. They were on an orange snowmobile with a long bed and a lime-green snowmobile. Both snowmobiles are 2014 Arctic Cats. Willett was last seen wearing a 1970s-style blue snowmobile suit, and Kleingartner was in a black POLARIS jacket and black/green boots.

The sheriff’s office earlier Wednesday sent a call out for civilian snowmobilers to help in the search. Snowmobilers were supposed to check in before noon.

If anyone has information about the missing snowmobilers, call (605) 584-2530.