STANLEY, Idaho – The Idaho Army National Guard’s State Aviation Group assisted with the search and rescue of a 44-year-old woman who was injured while hiking near Smokey Peak in Idaho’s Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
The rescue was the Idaho Army National Guard’s third in the mountain range in July.
A UH-72 Lakota flight crew assisted the Elmore County Sheriff’s Department and the Boise Fire Department with the rescue of the hiker, who was located on a steep hillside.
A crewmember lowed the Boise Fire Department’s Captain Bart Carrico to the patient, who was able to treat and prepare her for transportation. The crewmember hoisted Carrico and the patient into the helicopter. She was then transported to Gowen Field, where an Ada County Paramedics ambulance picked her up for further medical treatment.
The crew consisted of Col. Granger Amthor, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Jason Hopkins and Staff Sgt. Kole Newberry.
The State Aviation Group assisted Custer County Search and Rescue with rescues on July 6 and July 10 in the Sawtooth Mountain Range. In both of those incidents, Idaho Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawks transported injured hikers from remote areas in extreme weather conditions at high altitudes.