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SAR and Volunteers Rescue Injured Climber

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  June 19, 2017

CONTACT: Shari Ireton, Director of Communications, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office
shari.ireton@snoco.org, 425-388-3377, Media line: 425-249-6263

MT. BAKER-SNOQUALIMIE NATIONAL FOREST – Yesterday morning, the Search and Rescue Unit and volunteers from Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue rescued an adult male from Sloan Peak (located in eastern Snohomish County).  The 27 year-old Seattle man was climbing the peak Saturday as part of a climbing class when he fell and broke his ankle. One of the climbing instructors activated a personal locator beacon, which sent GPS coordinates to the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center in Florida, which in turn alerted a Snohomish County dispatch center around 5:15 p.m.  SAR personnel and volunteers, including Everett Mountain Rescue, responded.  SnoHAWK10, the rescue helicopter was unable to reach the climber due to inclement weather, but rescuers who made their way to the male by ground arrived at his location around 8:30 yesterday morning.  They provided first aid and moved the patient down the mountain’s glacier where he could be lifted into the helicopter.  He was flown to Darrington, where an aid car then transported him by ground to a nearby hospital.

Approximately 70 volunteers from throughout the State assisted with this rescue, including volunteers from Yakima (Central) Mountain Rescue, Chelan County Mountain Rescue, Everett Mountaineers, and the Seattle Mountaineers, providing roughly 1,000 hours of volunteer time. The Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR) team with U.S. Customs and Border Protection also assisted.

“Both the Mountaineers and BORSTAR were outstanding assets working in combination with our search and rescue/mountain rescue volunteers,” said SAR Sgt. Danny Wikstrom.

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