In Thursday’s (8/16) Main Line Media News (Ardmore, Penn.), Cheryl Allison writes about the “dramatic rescue” of a retired Philadelphia Orchestra violist last week in Washington State. “Albert Filosa, 69, who currently resides in Bellingham, had gone missing Aug. 11 while hiking alone near Mt. Baker in the North Cascades, east of Seattle. Search parties located him, hungry after three nights in the wild but uninjured, mid-morning Aug. 14. It took several more hours to bring him back to a trailhead so he could return home. Filosa had played viola for the Philadelphia Orchestra for 34 years before retiring in 2007…. The search for the missing musician had made news across the Northwest for several days. In an e-mail, Filosa, a bit taken aback by the attention, said he was recovering well…. A friend had called 911 late last Saturday, after Filosa did not return from a day hike, according to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office. According to the news reports, search and rescue volunteers began searching for him at 7 Sunday morning.… Filosa had apparently gotten lost while trying to find the trail to Rainbow Ridge and was unable to find his way back to a trailhead parking lot. He followed a stream downhill toward Baker Lake, according to the report, until the hillside became too steep and was able to take shelter in a small cave-like opening. The sheriff’s office described the area where he was found as ‘a rough, challenging and potentially hazardous area’ at an elevation of about 2,200 feet.”
Posted August 20, 2012
