Hiker Rescued After Fall in Superstition Mountains
Wait, don’t leave - you’re in the right place. This is mindlessmommy.com. This post isn’t about autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, anxiety, or Adam Jasinski. This post is about my dad. *insert awwww sound clip here*
I’ve posted previously that my dad is a member of Superstition Search and Rescue and has started a new business - Superstition Wilderness Adventures. Yesterday my dad picked my son up from school and was going to take my daughter out for a little drive in the mountains but he received a call that he needed to go on a rescue in the mountains instead. Evidently an individual felt like he was having a pretty nasty allergy attack and he didn’t think he was able to walk out on his own. So I headed over to my parent’s house (three miles away) to pick up my son so my dad could get out to the rescue ASAP. My daughter was a bit saddened but when I said that poppa had to go rescue someone she was OK with it.
So off my dad goes and we continue on with our Wednesday night which included a lot of dancing fun. As I get back in the car the phone rings and it is my dad to tell me of his adventurous evening. I love listening to his rescue stories - whether it is helping to find a boy scout troop lost and stranded in a rare winter storm or searching for a hiker lost for days, my dad always has a great story to tell. Last night was no exception.
They quickly found the hiker with the allergy attack and escorted him back to the parking lot. At that point they heard a woman screaming and yelling that someone had fallen. My dad and other members of the Superstition Search and Rescue quickly scrambled up the mountainside to get to this person. The challenge was that these two people were rock climbing and not hiking so there was no trail to follow. In addition, we’ve had a lot of rain lately so there is an increased amount of underbrush. My dad told me that he was the second person on the scene and the young man (turns out he is 20) looks to be in pretty bad shape and that his head was pretty smashed up.
My dad’s business partner, and Commander of the Superstition Search and Rescue, was next on site and together they worked to assess the situation, stabilize the young man, and offer reassurance to his female companion. EMTs from the area then followed suit, the Department of Public Safety helicopter flew in a stokes basket, and a life flight helicopter was summoned to the scene. Once the young man was stabilized and placed in the stokes basket, Cooper (my dad’s partner) attached himself to the basket and the pair were long-lined out by the DPS helicopter. Upon arriving at base camp the gentleman was rushed to a local hospital. The news later reported that although he had broken his neck, he was able to move his hands and feet - definitely good news.
The rescue was filmed live by a few local news stations. The video on the news was a lot more comprehensive but here is a brief video by our local CBS affiliate. Hiker rescued after fall in superstition mountains. My dad is in the light-colored hat on the left kind of at the base of the mountain. The gentleman in the bright yellow shirt and white hard hat is Cooper. The news broadcast showed the actual long-line evacuation.
I showed my daughter the broadcast this morning (I love my DVR) and she said she wanted to go rescue with poppa!
So all of this motivated me to get my behind back in the gym this morning. I would love to be able to join my dad on these rescues. I love the mountains, I love hiking, and I am cool-headed in stressful situations. Unfortunately I’m nowhere near athletic enough to qualify. In time dad, in time!
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