The Coast Guard airlifted a hiker on Saturday who broke his ankle in Olympic National Park and then crawled for eight hours to reach cell phone service.
In a prepared statement emailed to Navy Times, Coast Guard officials said that the unidentified 26-year-old man fractured his ankle on the Duckabush Trail, west of Hood Canal in the state of Washington.
After he called 911, a Jefferson County search and rescue team located him around 4 a.m., provided first aid and prepped him for medevac.
A Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter crew launched at first light and was hoisting the man around 7 a.m. to fly him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he was listed in stable condition.
“We like to train for high-altitude rescues because of the mountainous region we operate in,” said Lt. Cmdr. Sam Hill, MH-65 pilot, Air Station Port Angeles, in the statement.
“Because of that training, we were able to overcome numerous environmental challenges to rescue the hiker from a dangerous situation. We thank Jefferson County Search and Rescue for their help locating the hiker and assisting with the hoist.”
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Prine came to Navy Times after stints at the San Diego Union-Tribune and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He served in the Marine Corps and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. His awards include the Joseph Galloway Award for Distinguished Reporting on the military, a first prize from Investigative Reporters & Editors and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
