A 36-year-old female, who was attending a retreat at the Bar M Ranch in the Blue Mountains on Saturday, was rescued after she fell down a steep trail.
According to the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office, the woman fell and injured her ankle while hiking down a steep trail on the mountainside.
Personnel from the ranch attempted to get her out using crutches but were unsuccessful due to the narrowness of the trail and severity of the injury. Umatilla Tribal Ambulance responded and treated the woman’s injuries, but had no means of extricating her.
The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue (SAR) Team was called and arrived at Bar M Ranch at about 6:25 p.m. SAR members hiked approximately three-quarters of a mile to the woman’s location with a Stokes portable stretcher and wheel rescue device, arriving at about 7 p.m.
The trail was narrow and steep and contained several areas with steep drop offs at the trail’s edge. The victim’s location was approximately 400 feet above the river bottom. The woman was securely strapped into the Stokes rescue device. A series of safety lines were set to ensure the descent down the narrow and steep trail, about 400 feet above the river was controlled and prevented the device from going over the side.
The searchers and ambulance crew proceeded down the trail with the victim in what became very and strenuous work during the descent, which lasted over two hours. The patient was transferred into an all-terrain vehicle, and then driven to the emergency room of the nearest hospital for treatment.
