A Kaysville man accidentally shot himself in the foot while hunting for Elk near Fishlake.

Sevier County deputies and Search and Rescue were paged out on Monday Oct. 7 to search for a missing 20-year-old man from Kaysville.

Mason Bakker and his father were hunting for elk in the Lost Creek area of Fishlake. Mason had been dropped off by his father on Sunday to glass for elk in the area while his father went to search another area.

When Mason’s father returned, he was no longer in the area. Mason had began hiking down into the Humphrey Springs and lost creek. At some time while hiking, Mason slipped and fell, during the fall he accidentally pulled the trigger on his rifle causing it to fire.

A single bullet went through Mason’s foot and he was unable to hike back out to where he was supposed to meet his father.

Mason’s father looked for him until dark and the next morning ran into an off-duty deputy that was also hunting. The deputy reported it to the sheriff’s office and the search began.

Search and Rescue team members located Mason through their spotting scopes and were able to give his coordinates to a helicopter sent by the Utah Department of Public Safety.

The helicopter landed and discovered Mason’s injury to his foot and he was then flown out of the canyon to the Richfield airport where Sevier County EMT’s took him by ambulance to the hospital.

It was stated that Mason was in good condition despite his injury and not being well dressed to spend the night on the mountain.

Mason told officers that just before he and his dad had separated, his dad had given him a lighter which he used to start a fire and keep warm during the night.

Mason and his father were grateful for how well they were treated by all the first responders and the hospital staff.

Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis issued a reminder that “when you go into the back country be prepared, go places where you said you were going to be and don’t change your plan.”