July 22, 2024 – Inyo County Sheriff's Office officials report on the Inyo County Search & Rescue mission report for their July 13th operation.
We are proud to be teamed up with this amazing group of individuals.
During the evening of Friday, July 12, Inyo County Sheriff’s Office received the call that an 81-year-old male with a history of heart issues was currently camped above Forth Lake out of North Fork of Big Pine Creek, suffering from exhaustion and unable to walk himself out. The party of two had left San Diego on Tuesday, hiked all the way to Fourth Lake on Wednesday. Through Thursday and Friday, his condition at camp did not improve.
Due to limited daylight, it was decided to initiate the SAR team rescue for the next morning (Saturday). Coordination for an extraction by helicopter H82 of California Highway Patrol Inland division was confirmed Friday evening and H82 arrived at first light Saturday, went through a team briefing and were able to depart with one Inyo SAR member on board.
H82 was able to hoist the Inyo SAR member down to the patient’s location, who then loaded the patient into the hot seat and had him hoisted up and into the helicopter. Due to favorable temps, weight and performance, H82 was able to extract the Inyo SAR member on the same flight.
All members returned to the Bishop Posse Hut within an hour. The patient was transferred to the ambulance’s care and was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
Inyo SAR is an all-volunteer and unpaid, professional non-profit 501(c)3 organization in cooperation with and under the authority of the Inyo County Sheriff's Office. Providing search and rescue services to Inyo County and its visitors is only possible thanks to donations.
View video here.
Source: Inyo County Sheriff's Office
