Curry County, Ore. – The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a female hiker with head and leg injuries on Saturday. JSCO contacted the Curry County Sheriff’s Office for assistance around 6:00 p.m.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, 36-year-old Jennifer Nicole Edwards from Vancouver, Washington was hiking with her dog near the Illinois River Trail, about 7 miles south of Agness.
The Curry County Sheriff’s Office said Edwards fell off the trail and sustained substantial injuries including lacerations to the back of her head. Edwards was able to text her fiancé with her location using a satellite-based rescue phone.
CCSO said a Curry County Search and Rescue member hiked the trail for several hours in the dark until he found the woman at around 11:30 p.m. It was determined that she had fallen about 60 feet off the main trail in rugged terrain.
The Coast Guard said once additional Josephine and Curry County Search and Rescue personnel arrived on scene the next morning, it was determined that an airlift was the best method to get the Edwards to a hospital.
By request, a Coast Guard aircrew launched around 8:00 p.m. Saturday night, but the initial rescue attempt was unsuccessful. The crew returned on Sunday morning and lowered a rescue swimmer who provided additional medical care and prepared the woman for extraction.
The Coast Guard says the hiker was safely hoisted to a USCG helicopter and transported to a Grants Pass hospital. The woman’s dog was brought back out by a search and rescue team member.
In a press release, Curry County Sheriff John Ward said in part, “I am very proud of our SAR team and their dedication. This is another perfect example of the professional teamwork between neighboring counties. Curry County is lucky to have a team of men and women who devote themselves to search and rescue missions and risk their lives, ‘So That Others May Live’.”
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.