Rescuers successfully brought an injured hiker to safety after he was abandoned by a group of friends who decided to continue their journey without him.
An individual using an Apple device with a satellite connection placed a distress call around 6 p.m. on Friday, according to a Facebook post by the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue.
The group of five friends had been backpacking along the Kanab Creek in the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park when one of them, a 63-year-old man, suffered a severe shoulder injury from a fall.
Emergency response teams, including a helicopter, were dispatched to the location provided by the Apple device. Upon arrival, the helicopter had to make an emergency landing approximately a quarter mile away from the injured hiker due to the darkness and imposing canyon walls. Once rescue crews reached the injured man, he was airlifted to the hospital.
The incident occurred around 2 p.m. on the same day. Shockingly, once the hiking group confirmed that help was on the way via the Apple device, the other four hikers left with the device and continued their backpacking expedition, leaving the injured hiker completely alone.
The group had been on their backpacking adventure for approximately three to four days and still had three to four days left in their trip.
The post emphasizes the uncertainty surrounding the time the initial distress call was made using the Apple device. Fortunately, the helicopter rescue was able to expedite the injured hiker’s rescue, as it would have taken a significant amount of time for ground crews to reach his remote location.
This story should underscore the obvious, which is to never leave anyone behind when they are in need of rescue.