Coast Guard rescues father and son from mountain near Sitka

KODIAK, Alaska – A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew assisted a Sitka Mountain Rescue team in rescuing a father and son who were stranded on Harbor Mountain near Sitka Friday evening.

Sitka Mountain Rescue requested support from the Coast Guard Sector Juneau command center, reporting that Scott Swyers, 31, and his father John, 57, were stranded on the mountain and that Scott was suffering from symptoms of hypothermia and unspecified leg troubles.

The helicopter crew departed Sitka with a three-person Sitka Mountain Rescue crew aboard at 9 p.m. and safely rescued the father and son by 10 p.m. The rescue crew flew Scott and John to Air Station Sitka and safely transferred them to emergency medical services in stable condition.

Weather at the time of the rescue was reported as light winds and a temperature of 30 degrees.

Sitka Mountain Rescue is a group of volunteers providing wilderness safety education to the public, and prompt, professional emergency services for people who are lost, injured, stranded, or in need of rescue within the City and Borough of Sitka and Southeast Alaska.