Petty Officer 2nd Class Wes Shinn, an aviation maintenance technician from Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles, sit in the cabin of an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter after the air crew landed to drop their rescue swimmer off in the Olympic National Park, Wash., July 1, 2017. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles.
SEATTLE — A Coast Guard aircrew medevaced an injured 17-year-old female after she fell around 100 feet while hiking near the staircase of Home Sweet Home inside the Olympic National Park, Saturday.
The MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles hoisted the hiker and transferred her to Olympic Medical Center personnel.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received the medevac request from Olympic National Park rangers. The rangers already reached out to coordinators with the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, the agency responsible for coordinating on-land federal search and rescue activities, but the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island SAR aircrew was already responding to a different fallen hiker.
Once on scene, the dolphin helicopter crew landed, the rescue swimmer got out and climb to the hiker. The helicopter crew then lifted back off and lowered the litter to the swimmer, who stayed with the hiker while the crew refueled.
The hiker reported having numbness on her right side and pain in her neck.
