Sheriff’s crews find injured hiker, lost rafters

Published 10:57 pm Wednesday, August 5, 2009

GRANITE FALLS — Snohomish County sheriff’s search and rescue crews were busy Tuesday night coming to the aid of an injured hiker and lost rafters near Granite Falls.

The first call came in about 8:15 p.m. A hiker on Mount Pilchuck broke his leg and needed assistance off the mountain, sheriff’s Lt. Rodney Rochon said. The sheriff’s helicopter crew left Gold Bar, where Snohawk 10, the sheriff’s search and rescue helicopter, was on display for National Night Out Against Crime.

They located the man about a quarter-mile from the tower on Mount Pilchuck.

A rescue technician and a flight medic were lowered down to the 39-year-old Everett man. They stabilized his broken leg and then hoisted him up to the helicopter. He was flown to Taylor’s Landing in Snohomish, and paramedics took him to a local hospital.

The rescue was successful in part because the victim remained calm and was able to provide the helicopter crew with GPS coordinates, helping them pinpoint his location before nightfall, Rochon said.

A second call for help came in about 10 p.m. after two women were reported overdue from a rafting trip on the South Fork Stillaguamish River. The women, 21 and 22, had put in at River Scene Park in Granite Falls about 3:30 p.m. They were expected to float down the river to Swinging Bridge Park.

Friends were able to call the women on a cell phone. The women said they got out of the river but didn’t have any idea where they were. Deputies were able to call the women and tracked their location using cell-phone signals. They were located cold but safe.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463, hefley@heraldnet.com.