The Monterey County Search and Rescue in California conducted a 13-hour (16-hour with commute) rescue to pull an ill 20-year-old backpacker out of a remote wilderness area.
According to the SAR organization’s social media, a call came in at around 8:00pm on Saturday, December 28, seeking help for a backpacker who was too weak to hike out of the wilderness. As no helicopters were available to the team, the crew was forced to mobilize on foot.
Six SAR volunteers located and stabilized the patient, packaging the approximately 300-pound hiker into a litter and starting the process of carrying him out. The mission covered 16 miles rugged and steep trails.
Progress was initially slow due to the terrain and number of volunteers, but six Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) joined after about a mile to provide support. The mission remained quite difficult and exhausting, and rain began to fall early in the morning. Finally towards the end of the effort, Cal Fire personnel joined to assist and the patient was successfully extracted.
Huge props to the Monterey County Search and Rescue, Urban Search and Rescue, and Cal Fire personnel who conducted this brutal and exhausting extraction. Monterey county Search and Rescue is a non-profit, supporting the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office when necessary. They’re mission can be supported through donations here.