‘This beautiful story needs to be remembered’

Clark Fork raises funds for statue honoring local heroes

By Reader Staff

Inspired by a local story of compassion, community and resilience, acclaimed sculptor Austin Casson has begun construction of a 12-foot-tall statue titled “Clark Fork Heroes.” The sculpture, which will sit outside the town’s high school, is funded entirely by donations and will depict the 2024 rescue of Georgia Skye Tibbetts after she became lost in a snowstorm on Antelope Flats.

Tibbetts had been outside playing when her sled dog, Tundra, bolted into the woods. Her mother was caring for her four younger siblings, including a 2-month-old, and could not go after the dog, so Tibbetts went out on her own and eventually lost her way in the dense forest. By the time she found Tundra, a snowstorm had erased her tracks back to the house and night was falling, so Tibbetts began walking in what she thought was the right direction.

“I thought Tundra might help me find my way home, so we kept walking; but, looking back on it, I realize she just thought we were on a fun adventure together,” stated Tibbetts, speaking with fundraiser organizers. “She was still just a big puppy. She didn’t leave me and that did help me feel less alone and safe from the wild animals. She’s the best dog ever.”

Back home, her parents realized something was wrong and, after calling 911, began asking friends and neighbors and anyone on social media for help. Within hours, 300 people — more than half the population of Clark Fork — were out searching for the missing girl. Nearly seven hours later, Faithanne and Tim Hutto found Tibbetts wet and slightly hypothermic but alive, thanks in part to Tundra’s warmth.

Inspired by the story, Casson decided to create a sculpture capturing the likeness of Tibbetts and Tundra to commemorate how the community came together to support one another in a time of crisis.

“This beautiful story needs to be remembered,” stated Casson. “In a world of daily negative sound bites, this is what I still believe our country is about. Clark Fork proved that community, family and neighbors matter.”

“It is my great honor to help share a visual image of what the folks here in Clark Fork accomplished that day,” he later added.

Casson works primarily in metal and stone, and his work has been shown in the Library of Congress and the British and Ukrainian embassies. It also remains on permanent display at the World Golf Hall of Fame and the California Thoroughbred Hall of Fame. 

Clark Fork’s commemorative reinforced concrete monument will weigh in at around 5,000 pounds and include a plaque bearing the Huttos’ names, as well as space for the names of the community’s future heroes.

The sculpture will cost approximately $25,000, which will be funded entirely through public donations via GoFundMe. 

To donate, visit gofundme.com/f/clark-fork-heroes.