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 had broken 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 the man’s broken leg and then hoisted him up to the helicopter. He was flown to Taylor’s Landing in Snohomish, and paramedics transported 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 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 the Swinging Bridge Park.
Friends were able to contact the women on a cell phone. The women reported that they had gotten 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 signals from the cell phone. Both women were cold but safe.
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