Chelan County Sheriff’s Office Handled Two Weekend Hiker Rescues
A hiker from Western Washington is safe after being rescued by other hikers and Chelan County Sheriff's Office volunteer searchers.
Emergency Management Sergeant Jason Reinfeld says a group of hikers came upon an exhausted, unresponsive 32-year-old man toward the end of a Loop Hike through the Enchantments area.
"They were a great group of hikers," said Reinfeld. "They stayed with this struggling hiker and helped him continue his way out. And we deployed some volunteer searchers who went up the trail and assisted this hiker out."
Reinfeld says the group of hikers called 9-1-1 at about 10 pm Friday, and joined up with the volunteer searchers at around 11 pm to get the struggling hiker to the end of the trail by about 2 am.
The hiker was then able sleep in his vehicle at the Snow Lakes Trailhead.
The man had made it to the last two-and-a-half mile stretch on the Loop Hike from Stuart Lake Trailhead through the Enchantments to the Snow Lakes Trailhead when he was found by the group of hikers.
The Sheriff's Department was involved in a second rescue over the weekend, which involved a 73-year-old hiker.
Kittitas County requested help Saturday morning to locate the missing man, who had not returned from a day hike Friday.
The man had started from a trailhead in Kittitas County and was hiking in an area not far from Mt. Stuart.
Reinfeld says the Chelan County Sheriff's Helicopter was able to locate the man quickly Saturday morning after being provided with accurate GPS coordinates.
"Wind conditions and elevation prevented us from landing to take him out of there, but we were able to direct a nearby ground crew from Kittitas County to his location," Reinfeld said. "And they took him out on the ground."
Reinfeld said the man was able to walk much of the way out of the area, although a group of personnel known as a "litter crew" was brought in to use a device with a wheel to haul him the rest of the way.
The Chelan County Sheriff's Office also took part in a third rescue over the weekend.
The department provided volunteers and its helicopter to assist Wenatchee Police on Sunday morning with locating a missing three-year-old boy who was reported to be near Foothills Middle School.
The child, who is a non-verbal autistic toddler, was found sleeping in the neighborhood.