Rosie O'Donnell criticizes Mount Hood search effort

MOUNT HOOD, Ore. - As the rescue effort continues on Mount Hood, so do the costs, which some critics are saying is way too much.

Sheriff Joe Wampler with the Hood River County Sheriff's Office has said all along that he is not looking at the cost of the rescue, he is looking for the men.  One of them, 48-year-old Kelly James, was found dead in a snow cave over the weekend.  The two others, 37-year-old Brian Hall and 36-year-old Jerry Cooke, remain missing.

Rosie O'Donnell and her co-hosts kicked off 'The View' Tuesday with the hot topic of the missing climbers on Mount Hood.

Rosie O'Donnell: "I read in the papers that over $2.5 million the search has cost so far to find these three men."

Jacque Reid, Guest Co-Host: "Here they are, they knew the storm was coming and they still opted to go out and who should pay the cost?"

Rosie O'Donnell: "What warrants 27 helicopters and 1,000 people looking?  I just don't understand."

Joy Behar: "Send this team over to New Orleans and fix that situation."

Wampler has poured his heart, soul and county's manpower into finding the three climbers and resents the implications that the money would be better spent helping Katrina victims.

"I just want to reach out and grab her neck," he said.  "I mean, literally.  This is not stupid money.  This is important money.  This is about people's lives."

At $6,500 a day, many may question the cost of the elaborate rescue effort, but Wampler said the bill is misleading.  His crews would be working anyway and 90 percent of the rescuers are volunteers.  It is not even costing the military extra money because the mission is being tagged as training.

"We can either spend our time in a simulator or a simulated environment or we can get the best experience in a real world situation like this," said Capt. Mike Braibish with the Oregon National Guard.

"As long as people are climbing mountains, there needs to be people to help them," said Darren Stone, owner of Climb Max.

Stone said that as long as climbers keep coming to Oregon, the state should keep catering to them.

"Kilamanjaro is the most climbed mountain, but more people get on top of Mount Hood," he said.

Economic numbers do not pinpoint how much climbers spend while visiting the mountain, but in general $800 million is spent in our forests every year.

On a side note, Oregon is one of just a few states that can make you pay for your own rescue if you are reckless, and even then it is only $500.  The law is the result of three college students who got lost on Mount Hood in 1995, only to be found safe in a tent after $10,000 was spent to search for them.  It has only been enforced one time - for a boater.  We are told this case would not apply because the men were prepared.