Death in the Tetons: Eddie Cola Fitzgerald’s Last 24 Hours

When the moment comes to dial 9-1-1, the future seems very uncertain. Eddie Cola Fitzgerald, a mail carrier from Queens, New York, realized he was lost on the mountain in white-out conditions and called for help. An experienced skier, Eddie had much going for him. Diagnosed with hyperactivity and ADHD at age seven and possibly a high-functioning autistic, Eddie overcame these obstacles to succeed academically, professionally, and personally. When he went with his New York ski group to Grand Targhee, little did he know that the rope line for the North Boundary Traverse had been removed. Nor did he know that ending up in a canyon on the boundary of Wyoming and Idaho would put him smack in the middle of local Search and Rescue politics.Follow this true story of the search for Eddie as it plays out between the ski group, the 911 dispatch office, the ski patrol, two Search and Rescue teams, and Eddie himself. This roman-a-clef is augmented by actual testimony from the legal depositions taken in the case.