PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A U.S. Coast Guard crew from Air Station Astoria rescued a 14-year-old hiker who suffered a severe knee injury while hiking with her dad in the Deschutes National Forest on Father’s Day.
Because the injured hiker was unable to return to the trailhead, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter team was dispatched to the area at 4:20 p.m. The coastal crew reached the patient two hours later and dealt with numerous issues while trying to lift the girl to safety.
The towering trees and steep terrain made it impossible for rescuers to reach the teen with the helicopter’s hoist cable. Acting fast, the team lowered two rescue swimmers into the wilderness a quarter of a mile from the injured hiker. The rescue swimmers trekked into the woods, loaded the patient onto a stretcher and carried her over fallen trees, rocks and snow, back to the lift site.
U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jason Weeks said that the surrounding trees, steep terrain and severity of the injury made for an “incredibly challenging but rewarding rescue.”
“The environment in this region posed significant challenges but, because of our constant training for dynamic conditions such as these, we were able to work together as an effective team and complete our mission successfully,” Weeks said.
The father and the family dog were also lifted to the rescue chopper and the family was flown to the Redmond Municipal Airport. Paramedics then took the girl to a local hospital, where she was said to be in stable condition.
“This aircrew consisted of three dads, so it was very heartwarming to, on Father’s Day, play a role in the safe return of a father and his daughter back to safety,” Weeks said.
John Ross Ferrara
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