This article published in the Mammoth Times on August 31, 2000 provides additional information on the August 23, 2000 location of deceased Craig Sweet.
On Wednesday, August 23, a member of Mono County Search and Rescue located Craig Sweet, 41, of Mammoth. Sweet had been crushed by a large boulder while hiking in the Horseshoe Lake area.
Sweet's body was found about a half-mile east of the Mammoth Pass trail, near Horseshoe Lake. He had been missing since August 2. Concerned friends filed a missing person's report with the Mammoth Lakes Police Department August 7, and investigators found Sweet's truck in the Horseshoe Lake parking lot.
A full-scale Search and Rescue operation began the next day, but no traces of Sweet were found.
Following Search and Rescue procedure, team members continued to conduct informal searches typical in a missing person's case such as Sweet's. Other team members, MLPD and sheriff's deputies responded to the 2:30 p.m. call August 23 to identify and remove the body.
MLPD Detective Eric Hugelman calls Sweet's unfortunate demise a "freak accident." Hugelman theorizes that Sweet, an avid hiker, left Horseshoe Lake for an excursion on August 2 or 3 and left the trail to seek shelter from strong thunderstorms that hit the Mammoth area on those days. It appears that Sweet, who was alone, stepped on a loose boulder, lost his balance and was then hit by the large rock. An autopsy revealed that his heart was shattered in the blow.
Pat Sweet, Craig's mother, expressed the family's gratitude for the effort to find her son and for the support received from the community.
The family of Craig Sweet would like to thank the people of Mammoth for the prayers, thoughts, and comfort that they expressed to us during the time we spent there.
Our thanks especially to Search and Rescue for their tireless efforts and for successfully finding him. We also appreciated the efforts of the sheriff's office, the police, the Mammoth Times, and the radio and cable stations.
And thanks to all his friends and to Cervino's, where he worked, for joining in the search and for being there for us no matter what we needed. Your caring has meant so much to us. Craig loved it in the mountains.
May God bless and keep you safe.
Dave and Pat Sweet
Cari and John Ramirez
MT