Search For Firefighter Missing in N.M. Forest Grows

Sept. 03--More than 200 people are still searching the Santa Fe National Forest for a firefighter who has been missing since Friday afternoon.

Token Adams, an engine captain with the Jemez Ranger District, was dispatched Friday afternoon to look for smoke related to a lightning strike, said incident information officer John Helmich. The Associated Press reported that Adams left with other firefighters on ATVs in the area of Jemez Springs. Helmich said the fire was contained, but that Adams did not check in, which initiated the search.

All firefighters carry radios, but Adams has not responded to calls, Helmich said.

Helmich said that Adams, who had been with the district for a year-and-a-half, was experienced and had training and equipment he could use to deal with situations like this one. A Jemez Ranger District spokeswoman Linda Riddle said Adams, a former Navy SEAL, was a member of an elite Hotshot firefighting crew and had 10 years of forest experience in Florida before moving to New Mexico.

He was familiar with the area he was headed for Friday, Riddle said, but she added that in the rolling and sometimes difficult terrain, "it's easy to get turned around."

Helmich confirmed that Adams had called his wife around 1 p.m. Friday, prior to the search for the lightning strike, but that phone call hasn't helped search crews locate him.

Helmich said people from the Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico State Police, state Search and Rescue, the Carson National Forest and the National Guard are participating in the search, using equipment including helicopters to aid in the search. The search had to be briefly suspended on Sunday night due to rain.

The Associated Press reported that the search area was about 30 square miles as of Monday morning.

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