Stories about missing horses rarely end well. Exposure, predators, rugged terrain, and extreme weather usually stack the odds firmly against survival — especially in the American West.
That’s why the discovery of a horse named Mouse, missing for seven months and found alive deep in Wyoming’s Wind River Mountains, stunned nearly everyone involved. Against all expectations, Mouse survived through fall, winter, and some of the harshest conditions the region can offer — and thanks to a remarkable rescue effort, he made it home.
Disappeared in the Backcountry
Mouse went missing in July 2025 during a backcountry packing trip near Moon Lake, outside Dubois, Wyoming. His owner, local resident Preston Jorgenson, was heading into the Wind River Range for a fishing trip when Mouse broke loose and vanished into the mountains.
Like many horse owners in similar situations, Jorgenson held onto hope that the horse would eventually return on his own.
“We put the word out,” Jorgenson later told Cowboy State Daily. “I thought for sure he’d come down when it started snowing.”
But weeks passed. Then months.
Search attempts turned up nothing. As fall shifted into winter, optimism faded. The Wind River Mountains are vast, steep, and unforgiving — and surviving there through a Wyoming winter is difficult even for wildlife adapted to the terrain.
Seven months in those conditions made survival seem nearly impossible.
An Unexpected Sighting in January
Everything changed on January 18.
That day, Tighe Krutel, a snowmobile mechanic with Union Pass Rentals, was riding near Union Pass Road when he spotted something no one expected to see.
It wasn’t tracks.
It wasn’t remains.
It was a live horse, standing in the snow.
Krutel immediately dropped a GPS pin and began spreading the word. The report moved quickly through the local community, reaching Jorgenson and others familiar with the missing horse.
Soon, the identity became clear: the horse was Mouse.
A Decision to Act Immediately
Union Pass Rentals owner Tim Koldenhoven didn’t hesitate once the sighting was confirmed.
“Once we found the horse, we went in there and winged it,” he said. “We immediately realized this was worth the effort.”
A small group, including Krutel, Jorgenson, and local cowboy Buster Campbell, headed back into the mountains to confirm Mouse’s condition and get hay to him.
Even with GPS coordinates, finding Mouse again wasn’t simple. Snow depth reached six to seven feet in places, and the terrain made every step physically demanding.
“He wasn’t initially at the spot where the pin had been dropped,” Campbell explained. “So we ran around in there until we found and fed him.”
Racing Against Time
Once Mouse was located and fed, a more difficult question emerged: how do you get a horse out of deep mountain snow?
Leading him out on foot wasn’t an option. Horses struggle badly in deep snow, and Mouse was already thin and exhausted after months of survival.
“He probably had a couple weeks left in him,” Koldenhoven said. “If we had another big snowstorm, I think it would have been the end of the horse.”
The situation was urgent. Waiting wasn’t possible.
A Community Comes Together
What followed was a rescue effort that relied on both creativity and cooperation.
Volunteers and local businesses joined forces, bringing together:
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Specialized snowmobiles from Union Pass Rentals
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A snow groomer from Crooked Creek Guest Ranch
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A Snow Cat capable of navigating extreme terrain
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And people willing to attempt a rescue with no instruction manual
Then came the most unusual part of the plan.
The Raft That Saved a Horse
To transport Mouse safely across the snow, the group came up with an unconventional solution: a whitewater raft.
Sourced from River Runners in Cody, the raft became what Koldenhoven jokingly called a “one-horse open sleigh.”
When the moment came, Mouse didn’t resist.
“He stepped right into the raft and lay down,” Koldenhoven said. “He was super tired.”
Secured carefully, Mouse was towed behind a snow machine across the snow until reaching the Snow Cat, which handled the final stretch of the journey.
By 4 p.m. on Sunday, Mouse was out of the mountains and on his way home.
A Rescue That Shouldn’t Have Worked — But Did
“It was a half-assed game plan that we put together on the fly,” Koldenhoven admitted. “But everything went great.”
Against the odds, the improvised plan worked.
Mouse survived the transport without injury, showing remarkable calm despite exhaustion. Those involved credit a combination of quick decision-making, proper equipment, and Mouse’s own instincts for making the rescue possible.
How Mouse Survived Seven Months
Considering the conditions, Mouse’s survival remains extraordinary.
While he is thin and clearly in need of recovery, he was found alive, alert, and responsive. Those who saw him believe several factors contributed to his survival:
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Access to water
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A limited but consistent food source
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A sheltered area where he had been bedding down
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And his ability to conserve energy
“You could tell he’d been hanging out in that place for a while,” Koldenhoven said. “He had a decent food source, water, and a place where he’d been bedding down. That’s how he held on.”
Still, no one involved suggests this outcome is common.
Most missing-horse cases do not end this way.
Why This Rescue Was So Rare
Horse rescues in winter backcountry conditions are exceptionally difficult. Deep snow, unpredictable weather, and limited access make even locating an animal challenging — let alone extracting one safely.
“The rescue would have never happened without the equipment,” Campbell said. “But it also never would have happened without the boots on the ground who knew what they were doing.”
It was a rare alignment of skill, resources, and timing.
The Road to Recovery
Mouse’s journey isn’t over.
After seven months in the mountains, he will require time, proper nutrition, veterinary care, and rest to regain weight and strength. His owners have created a website where people can follow his recovery and learn more about the rescue effort.
The site allows supporters to:
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Receive updates on Mouse’s condition
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Learn more about how the rescue unfolded
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Help with veterinary and rehabilitation costs
A Story That Restores Hope
Mouse’s survival and rescue stand as a reminder of why people continue to hope — even when experience suggests otherwise.
Against extreme odds, a missing horse endured one of the harshest environments in the lower 48 states and lived. And because a group of people refused to assume the worst, Mouse now has a second chapter.
Stories like this are rare.
That’s what makes them matter.