By Rick Silva Managing Editor

Posted: 11/23/2010 01:00:00 AM PST

Thanks to a brand new Sno-Cat, Butte County Sheriff's Search and Rescue team were able to rescue a missing Paradise man Monday morning. According to the Sheriff's Office, Ricky Lanser, 51, left Ferguson Dr. residence on Saturday morning in a silver Toyota Tacoma pickup truck "en route to a frequented spot for woodcutting on the S Line out of Inskip."

Late Sunday afternoon, the Sheriff's Office received a report from his son, Ricky Lanser, Jr. that his father had not returned. Search and Rescue was called out at 5:30 p.m. and search teams initially responded with its "first out" rescue equipment -- an Argo Avenger 8-wheeled, tracked ATV; two snowmobiles; a Polaris Ranger tracked 4x4 ATV; and two members' personal heavy-duty 4x4's.

After talking to the younger Lanser, officials got a good idea where his dad would be cutting and sent search teams and its rescue vehicles from Stirling City, because road conditions were not safe for towing into Inskip. But heavy snow and downed trees made access to Lanser difficult, so at midnight Monday morning officials withdrew its teams and equipment and return in the morning with the team's Tucker SnoCat.

"The snow so light and powederd that we had no traction in the areas," Team Captain Ed Stopper said. "It was like we were on top of the snow." At 8 a.m., Monday, Matt Pearce and Scott Steele, took the Sno-Cat from Stirling City and found Mr. Lanser alive and well, with his vehicle, 4.8 miles from Inskip off the S Line, not far

from the woodcutting location given by his son. The Sno-Cat used to fetch Lanser was donated by PG&E to Butte County Sheriff's Search & Rescue in December 2007.

"We are grateful to PG&E," he said. "Without (SnoCat), we wouldn't have been able to get him."

He had spent two days with his disabled vehicle waiting for rescue. Pearce and Steele assessed Mr. Lanser for injuries and hypothermia and determined he was in good health for the ride back to Stirling City where they met with a Sheriff's deputy who transported Mr. Lanser back to his Paradise residence.

Stopper didn't know if Lanser had any food, water or cell phone with him but did say his team had "lousy" cell phone coverage. Lanser was down in the west branch Stopper said and the fact that he had let family know where he might be helped rescue crews.