The Grand County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team responded to five challenging rescue incidents within a span of 36 hours on Oct. 25 and 26, mobilizing personnel, helicopters and extensive resources to aid injured hikers and climbers across the Moab area.
Detailing the rescues in a Facebook post, Search and Rescue said the first call came early Friday afternoon, Oct. 25, when a motorcyclist fell 30 feet into a ravine on the Hell’s Revenge Trail. Search and Rescue and Grand County EMS located the man, treated him on-site, and transported him in a secure rescue stretcher, or litter, back to the trailhead where an ambulance was waiting.
Later that evening, the team responded to a hiker injured by a rolling boulder along the Amphitheater Loop Trail near Hittle Bottom Campground.
After a complex search, the post explained that Search and Rescue members located the woman, who had made her way to Highway 128, limping from her injuries. She was transported to Moab Regional Hospital by a friend.
Saturday’s incidents began early, the post noted, with an injured climber at Castleton Tower, who fell 30–40 feet while ascending the south face. The complex rescue involved a technical hoist by the Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter. Search and Rescue climbers reached the injured climber on a ledge, secured the patient and prepared him for hoisting by the DPS helicopter, which operated within 20 feet of Castleton Tower’s wall. The climber was safely transported to Moab Regional Hospital for further treatment.
(Search and Rescue) The Grand County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team responded to five challenging rescue incidents within a span of 36 hours on Oct. 25 and 26.
While the Castleton Tower rescue was ongoing, Search and Rescue received another call — this time for an off-highway vehicle accident at Hell’s Gate on Hell’s Revenge Trail, which is not recommended for OHVs.
KSL reported that the accident involved a young man who appeared to have sustained serious back and head injuries, according to a witness.
An EMT accessed the remote accident site by dirt bike and recommended evacuation by helicopter. However, the helicopter needed to land within the narrow gulley where the accident occurred, making the operation even more challenging.
First responders and bystanders joined forces to carefully move the injured man down the steep terrain, forming a human chain to transport him safely. Once secured, he was flown to St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Just after 3 p.m., another call came in regarding an injured hiker near the Fisher Towers trail. Three hikers had ventured beyond the end of the Fisher Towers, with one sustaining an ankle injury and unable to walk back. DPS helicopter personnel assisted in locating the group and transporting the injured hiker and companions back to the trailhead, where they were treated by EMS.
Search and Rescue members arrived back in town around sunset on Saturday.
In the comment section, over 30 people piled on the praise for Search and Rescue.
“Moab is lucky to have such skilled and dedicated rescue and medical personnel,” commented Joanne M. M. Anderson.
Lauren Daniel Davis wrote, “God bless them all. I know all too well the risks of their own lives to save another.”
This story was first published by The Times-Independent.
