Hats off to the folks at Sonoma County Sheriff Office out of Santa Rosa, California who pulled off a flawless rescue of hiker in distress over the weekend.
The following video shows the events of the Saturday, August 8th rescue. At approximately 3:20pm an emergency request was put to spin up the SCSO’s Henry-1, Bell 407 GXP helicopter, to rescue a hiker who had fallen 30 feet from a cliff near the Ocean Cove Campground.
The victim was quickly located on the rocks below the cliffs in an area inaccessible to personnel on the ground. Before rescuers arrived by air, several bystanders had scaled down the cliffs to assist the victim and placed a makeshift splint on his injured leg.
The Henry-1 helicopter responded alongside Timber Cove Fire Protection District, Coast Life Support District, California State Parks and REACH Sonoma County 1. Henry-1 conducted a 100-foot longline rescue using a traverse rescue stretcher and flew the victim to the waiting Sonoma County 1 helicopter. The patient was then transported to a local trauma center for further treatment.
Hats off to the pilot and the longline rescuer for making a tricky situation appear routine. Amazing work.
“This rescue was another great example of teamwork between bystanders and our regional fire, EMS, law-enforcement, and air-medical partners.” -Sonoma County Sheriff Office
