Harrison Ford Was a Real-Life Hero When He Rescued a Lost Boy Scout in Wyoming’s Frozen Zone
We all know Harrison Ford as the star of Indiana Jones, but did you know he was a hero on screen and behind the scenes?
About 23 years ago, in 2001, Ford rescued a Boy Scout who was alone and stranded in the Wyoming wilderness.
Cody Clawson was just 13 years old when he got lost near Yellowstone National Park. He was missing for more than 18 hours and spent the night in a cave, according to an ABC News interview.
“It rained and froze that night,” Mr. Clawson told reporters.
“It was really chilling.”
However, Mr. Clawson woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of planes and helicopters.
“I started looking for an open area where I could point them out,” he recalled. “I used my belt buckle to reflect the sunlight. They saw it and landed.
When Clawson saw the helicopter coming to his rescue, the last person he expected as a pilot was the famous Harrison Ford – a hero on and off screen, obviously.
He said ‘Hello’ to me and I recognized [his voice],” Mr. Clawson said. He asked me how I was doing and said, “You definitely should have gotten a merit badge for that.”
At the time, Ford was living (part-time) in Jackson, Wyoming. He often volunteered for rescue missions in the area, as he had piloting experience and owned a real helicopter. In fact, Clawson wasn’t the only person Ford rescued.
According to an old CBS News article, in July 2000, “Ford pulled an Idaho Falls, Idaho, hiker off Table Mountain, an 11,106-foot mountain in Teton County.
Megan Freeman climbed the mountain, but lack of oxygen and dehydration left her unable to come back down. Ford picked her up and took her to the hospital in Driggs, Idaho.”
The rumors are therefore true: Ford, now 81 years old, is a true hero.
