Lewis County Swift Water Rescue’s Technical Rescue Team and Lewis County Search and Rescue were dispatched at about 4 p.m. Aug. 14 to the area of Forest Road 63 and Davis Creek Road for a rescue, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office announced in a news release.
The sheriff’s office had received word that a female resident had possibly broken her ankle while canyoneering with two others.
She was unable to self-extricate from the approximate 150-foot canyon that she had rappelled into and required immediate emergency rescue.
One of the people accompanying the injured woman was able to return to the roadway to contact emergency services and direct responders to the location. The other person was able to safely rappel to the injured resident and wait for responders.
Once the Lewis County Swift Water Rescue Technical Rescue Team and Lewis County Search and Rescue arrived, they were able to lower rescuers to the injured woman, who was still at the bottom of the canyon.
She was triaged and secured for transport to the top of the canyon by medical personnel.
Once safely to the top of the canyon, the woman was transported by helicopter for further treatment.
The person who rappelled to the injured resident to help her was brought to the top of the canyon with assistance from rescuers a short time later and was uninjured, the news release stated.
“We would like to extend our appreciation to all of our partner agencies and their personnel who are part of our Technical Rescue Team, as well as other EMS volunteers who assisted,” the sheriff’s office stated in the news release.
