National Guard photo by Maj. Leslie Reed, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs
SALEM, Ore. – On Sunday, June 23, 2024, at approximately 1:55 p.m., an Oregon Army National Guard HH-60M Black Hawk helicopter and crew rescued a female hiker in her mid-forties, who became stranded on the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) in Southern Oregon.
Working with the Klamath County Sheriff’s office and the Oregon Department of Emergency Management, the Oregon Army National Guard helped secure the hiker who had slipped on shale rock and had fallen off a cliff and into a rock chute after she and her husband took a shortcut along the trail at approximately 7,000 feet.
A technical rope team said there was no way to get above or below her without risking a rock slide. They reported she was conscious after her fall and had a strong mobile phone signal and battery.
The state search and rescue coordinator was given both hiker’s mobile phone numbers to keep in contact with her, and was able to confirm she had food and water.
The Army helicopter crew departed the Army Aviation Support Facility in Salem, Oregon and arrived in Roseburg to refuel and pick up a flight medic en route to the incident site.
The injured hiker was rescued by air hoist at approximately 7:47 p.m., and then flown to the Medford Airport where she was transferred to emergency medical services. She had severely bruised legs and back issues, but was not showing signs of bleeding.
“Without the air rescue expertise of the Oregon Army National Guard this SAR mission would have been impossible to accomplish so efficiently,” State SAR Coordinator Scott Lucas said.
After refueling in Medford, the four-member Oregon Army National Guard crew returned to Salem just before midnight.
