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Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Yahoo
‘I thought I was gonna die.' Irmo teen recounts pit bulls' attack at Harbison
A tree stump had never looked so good. Connor McNeill, 19, had been out for a late afternoon solo jog in Harbison State Forest last week, in a free-flowing zone as he listened to music, when he suddenly spotted two pit bull-type dogs. 'To my left, I see two pit bulls running out of the forest toward me,' McNeill recalled in an interview with The State newspaper. He knew the danger those kinds of dogs might pose. 'When I saw them, my heart dropped to my stomach.' Before he reached the stump and made what could have been his last stand, McNeill engaged in a duel with the dogs that he described as large, weighing maybe 90 pounds each and 'well-muscled and well-fed.' 'They started to encircle me, similar to how wolves hunt, one tried to go behind, one to the front, and I had to get in an athletic stance. One tried to jump on me, but I squatted, did a little fireman's carry and threw it over my shoulder. Then I had to kick them off of me and punch them in their faces. I kept on looking around me seeing if there's anything I could climb.' Seeing no refuge, McNeill kept moving until across a meadow he glimpsed the stump. He had no weapons and was only wearing khaki shorts, Nike running shoes and a black T-shirt. He jumped on the stump, and the dogs kept on attacking. 'I was kicking them and punching them and and they almost got up there and I had to kick them off of me. I was on the stump for 30 minutes.' Hitting the pit bulls was a surreal experience. 'Their skulls are so dense. It's almost like hitting a brick wall. You can hit them and then they'll bounce back. They're not fazed by it.' During that time, he yelled for help. No one heard him in the 2,137-acre nature preserve, which has some 18 miles of jogging trails. He called 911. No one answered. He reached his aunt, Megan McNeill, and his twin sister, Chloe McNeill, and told them to call 911, all the while contending with the dogs lunging at him. The dogs were barking nonstop — as loud as dogs can bark,' he said. Find my iPhone saved his life Fortunately, McNeill and Chloe had location-sharing on their cellphones, so she and his aunt were able to tell police where he was, all the while driving to Harbison to reach him. 'That was a crucial component of my life being saved,' McNeill said. 'I had Find my iPhone on so they could access my location.' After about 30 minutes, his sister and aunt showed up, ramming their car through two locked gates in the park to reach a site near McNeill. They couldn't get through a third locked gate. Exiting the car, McNeill's sister ran down a hill toward him. The dogs started to move toward her. McNeill waved her back. He had been nearing the end of his strength. 'Not to be dramatic, but I genuinely like thought I was gonna die.' 'I yelled at the dogs and attracted them back to me,' McNeill said. 'I didn't want them to go after my sister.' His sister waited on the hill, until his aunt arrived with two sticks. Then the two women, each holding a stick, walked down the hill. McNeill threw a rock at the dogs. His aunt told him to run down a road to where the police were so he could tell them where the women were. Meanwhile, the dogs vanished, and the police arrived. 'She (Chloe) has a ticket for damaged state property, but it's kind of my fault because I told her to break down the gates and come run the dogs over because I was going to die.' Dogs out to kill 'If it was a couple of minutes later, I would definitely not be here,' he said. 'They were aiming for the neck.' McNeill — who loves to exercise, stands 5-foot-11 and weighs 149 pounds — is in far better shape than most Americans. He trains for Spartan Ultra races — grueling 32-mile, obstacle-strewn trail runs that can take 10 hours to complete. He lifts weights five times a week. All of this is to get him in shape to take a military gap year after graduating from Irmo High School in May. In November, McNeill will start basic training at the U.S. Army's Fort Jackson, followed by five months at combat medic school in San Antonio before entering The Citadel later in 2026. His fitness saved his life, he believes. 'If this was a child or someone out of shape or like an elderly person, they would be dead within seconds,' he said. 'They were trying to hunt and pin you down.' He thinks he's very lucky. He suffered no dog bites, unlike a Columbia-based federal prosecutor, Winston Holliday, who was ambushed at Harbison by what are believed to be the same two vicious dogs the day after the dogs attacked McNeill. Holliday, 57, suffered serious bites on his arms and legs and required 17 stitches. He is undergoing a series of rabies shots. Many of his bites came on the back of his legs, where one dog got behind him. The free-roaming dangerous dogs still have not been found. Because of the attacks, Harbison has been temporarily closed to the public since Monday at least until noon Thursday. Officials are evaluating the situation. McNeill says his sister and aunt showed up at just the right time. 'If it was a couple of minutes later, I definitely would not be here,' McNeill said. 'Those dogs definitely wanted some blood.' Traps for dogs Victoria Clary, superintendent of Columbia Animal Services, said this week that traps have been put out in an effort to capture the attacking dogs. The traps are metal boxes with food inside that would attract dogs. When a canine enters, he will likely step on a pedal, triggering the trap's closure. 'It would confine the animal safely and unharmed,' she said. 'As of around 9 a.m. this morning, the dogs have not been caught,' Clary said Wednesday. Clary said that when the park reopens, 'We would certainly encourage visitors to the park to be accompanied by somebody else.' Visitors should also carry cellphones, she said, 'but the safest thing is to have somebody with you.' The Richland County Sheriff's Department, Columbia police and the S.C. Forestry Commission are all involved in the search for the dangerous dogs. According to Pawmetto Lifeline, a Columbia-based animal advocacy organization that works for a long-term solution for the overpopulation of large mixed breed dogs, seven people have been killed in South Carolina by large mix breed dogs since 2021 and 11 critically injured. 'When large breed dogs are not trained, socialized or properly managed, they can do extensive harm if they attack. The municipal shelters are overwhelmed with large breed mix dogs and they are being euthanized at the highest rate of any breed,' Pawmetto Lifeline CEO Denise Wilkinson said. The group backs a legislative proposal, to be called Jayce's Law, aimed at cutting down the overpopulation of large mix breed dogs.
Vancouver Sun
11-07-2025
- Vancouver Sun
'The hardest decision' B.C. rescue teams have to make: When to call off a search
Alex Nguyen's parents were waiting in the parking lot of Shannon Falls Provincial Park on Canada Day when they lost contact with their son. The day was a perfect 31 C. The family had set out for some sightseeing near B.C.'s third-highest waterfall, where spectacular veils of whitewater cascade over a series of cliffs and sheer ledges formed by glacial erosion. It wasn't meant to be a wilderness hike, but Nguyen, wearing flip-flops, had decided to explore the trail a bit. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Nguyen's parents were texting with their son as he walked. Nguyen, 20, texted that he was getting tired and heading back. By 3 p.m. his phone had died. His parents, growing anxious, called 911. By 3:20 p.m., Squamish Search and Rescue teams were on the ground. By 3:30 p.m., they were on the trails. Each search has its own challenges and concerns, and presents in its own unique way, said Tyler Duncan, Squamish Search and Rescue manager, about the operation that would become a three-day search. The team felt optimistic about this one. 'His mom had been tracking him on Find my iPhone. We had a very recent cellphone ping which put him halfway up the Sea to Summit Trail, which goes from the base of Shannon Falls to the top of the Squamish gondola. 'There was still plenty of daylight,' said Duncan. The Sea to Summit Trail is about eight kilometres long, with an elevation gain of 915 metres that would take a good hiker about three to five hours to complete. Squamish has many accessible valley trails, said Duncan, but the mountain trail networks can very quickly become difficult. Flats become steep trails with man-made stairs, boulders, slabs with chains or ropes for clambering, and unstable slopes. Several 'hasty' teams started from the bottom toward where the cellphone had last pinged, while another team descended from the top. 'If it took you two hours to hike somewhere, it's going to take us two hours to hike in to help you,' said Duncan. The first search covered the major trail networks that run between the sheer cliff bands. 'It's a tiered structure,' said Duncan. Slope, cliff, slope, cliff. 'Because of that final cellphone ping, I was quite confident that we would get to that last location and find him sitting there waiting for us or meet him on the trail somewhere.' Seventeen Squamish SAR volunteers covered the major trails using sound searching, voices and whistles, and stopped to listen for anyone that might be calling for help. By 6 p.m., the mood, and the plan, had changed, said Duncan. Drones were sent into the areas searchers couldn't navigate by foot as darkness loomed. Drones are most effective at dusk, as the ground and rock begin to cool off and the infrared camera sees differences in temperature: A person would stand out against the cooling ground. Operational Period 1 of the search wrapped up at 1:30 a.m. Operational Period 2 began at 5:30 a.m. Tyler Duncan is the manager of Squamish Search and Rescue. He's pictured in the forest near Squamish on July 10. Alex's parents had gone home and returned, bringing fresh clothing for their son. Squamish Search and Rescue issued a mutual aid request for the South Coast region. A hundred searchers came from around the region, in addition to 25 from Squamish rescue, and drones were in the air by 6 a.m. covering the entire Chief Trail network. A promising sighting emerged after a social-media blast: A couple had encountered Alex on a trail on Day 1. He didn't seem lost or panicked, but asked for advice on which trail he should take to get down. 'We were still very hopeful we would find Alex sitting and waiting for us somewhere,' said Duncan. Operational Period 2 ended without success, but there was no conversation about suspending the search. 'We were still very positive,' said Duncan. The Sea to Sky Gondola put Alex's parents up at a nearby hotel. When any major search moves into its third operating period, B.C. SAR brings in a Level 2 search manager. Paul Berry of Comox Valley SAR was brought in to advise what more could be done. All searchable trails and high hazard areas, where someone could slip off a cliff or into the water, had been covered. The goal was to ask, 'What next?' 'My recommendation was to expand the search off the trails,' said Berry. Skilled technical searchers rappelled into canyons and over cliffs above the waterfall. Due to the volume, agitation and aeration of the water, it was too dangerous to put swift water technicians into Shannon Creek, but cameras were dropped into the water. Throughout the day, team leaders met with family members in the command centre, sharing information about the search. By the end of the day, the conversations became more difficult. The decision to suspend a search is made based on probability of survival, and management of risk for the search teams, and in consultation with the RCMP, SAR and the family, said Berry. Starting a search is easy. Knowing when to stop searching is not. When it comes to suspending a search, there is no standard operating procedure. 'It's the hardest decision we ever have to make,' said Berry. 'It's desperately hard on the families and on the searchers.' On the morning of Day 4, the RCMP put out the announcement that the search was suspended. The decision led to some criticism on social media: the search was too short; the victim was at fault; and even that SAR makes decisions based on race. 'We have seen some painful comments on social media,' said Duncan. 'We look for everybody the same way.' Most importantly, said Duncan: 'Suspended does not mean it's over. We are waiting for conditions to change or more information to become available.' If and when it does, 'we will start looking for him again.' dryan@
