14-year-old Utah boy shares story of rescue after 21 hours alone in arctic temperatures

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A 14-year-old Utah boy was found alive after 21 hours alone in the mountains- after getting lost while snowmobiling with his dad and family friends on Saturday Feb. 8, 2025.

Mason Archibald, a Bear River Middle School 8th grader, is telling his miracle story of survival that somehow ended without injury.

Mason’s Mom, Mindi, who was home with his younger siblings, saw him for the first time at the hospital in Logan after his 21 hours of solo survivor.

PREVIOUS: Missing 14-year-old snowmobiler found alive near Utah-Idaho border, deputies say

“They were all blown away in the Emergency room, the EMT’s they were all shocked, in 30 years they hadn’t seen anything like this. We don’t know what he’s made of, but there’s something good in there.”

Mason was last seen riding a yellow snowmobile in Franklin County, Idaho, around 11am Saturday and was reported missing after his group noticed he was gone and was unable to find him nearby.

Mason realized he was lost after a few minutes alone when he looked around and couldn’t see his dad or anyone else.

“I was like oh shoot, and I started freaking out cried and prayed a whole bunch.”

After losing his cool for a few minutes, Mason gathered his composure and got back on his sled.

“I kind of drove around because I didn’t think I was that far from them, so I went up and over the hill and then went to the side of the mountain.”

He stopped when he got to hill with a steep slant, “the snowmobile was heavy and I knew if I went further, I would have tipped. I just stopped it laid it there and started to walk.”

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW:

Meanwhile his dad was frantic, not only was Mason missing, but a blizzard moved in creating white out conditions just 45 minutes into their search.

Official Search efforts began at 2:30 p.m. after a call to 9-1-1, the Cache County Sheriff's Search and Rescue team responded to the Franklin Basin Road trailhead in Logan Canyon to assist Franklin County officials on the Idaho side.

Crews reported receiving repeated pings from Mason’s cellphone but attempts to reach him were unsuccessful, his phone last updated his location at 6 am when the group started their adventure.

Mason’s phone died in his pocket, due to the extreme cold.

While search crews set out on snowmobiles and in the air by chopper, Mason wandered aimlessly searching for signs of life.

It was white with snow and trees that all looked alike in every direction, no way to tell where he came from or which way to go.

At home, Mason’s mom wanted to call for more help, but search and rescue asked her to hold off so they could follow any tracks without confusing searchers.

Mindi admits, she “thought they’d find him quicker and was naïve to the situation” as the hours went by “it just got scarier and scarier and realized they might not find him and that was horrible.”

After 12 hours of searching with no sign of Mason, Mindi started asking for volunteers online, that’s when dozens of people from the community started heading north to the search area, ready to swap out with cold and exhausted search teams.

By 2 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office deployed a team to relieve Cache County’s crew, who had been working through the night in harsh, arctic-like conditions with temperatures lingering around -15F.

Search and rescue teams from Franklin County, Cache County, Weber County, Box Elder County, and dozens of volunteers from Mason’s hometown searched in shifts overnight.

While crews searched, Mason, “patted down the snow” with nothing but the sound of a bird, a woodpecker in the vast terrain.

“I tossed and turned and kicked my feet to keep the blood flowing cause I’m thinking I ain’t getting frost bite, dude I’ve got to play baseball.” He laughs and ads, “I said a bunch of prayers too.”

Mason was found by a volunteer in White Canyon, in Franklin County, Idaho mid-morning on Sunday.

Mason says he woke up at 8 or 9 “and heard a snowmobile, which seemed pretty closed and yelled HELP, the sound got closer, and dude came closer down the mountain.”

The nightmare was over.

Mindi, who was at home, got a call Sunday morning from the sheriff with news that search, and rescue were headed back out with fresh teams and sunlight.

30 minutes later and Mindi got another call with good news, “it had been 21 hours. I wasn’t expecting and they said we found him and he’s ok. It was a miracle.”

“Pretty horrible but such a blessing and so many wonderful things came out of it, but I don’t want him going anywhere for a while.”

EMT’s could not find anything wrong with Mason and said he didn’t need to go to the hospital, his mom who was not with him wanted to send him just in case.

Once there, doctors were shocked that he did not suffer any frostbite, the first case of its kind in more than 30 years that EMT’s or doctors could remember a case like this.

“We are so grateful it really because of all we could think of was to ask people for prayers and saw so many come together and pray and search for our son. We are so grateful.”

___