EAGLE COUNTY, Colo. — The Colorado Army National Guard rescued two male hikers at approximately 8:15 today.
The Eagle County Sheriff's Office contacted the U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center to request the assistance of the Colorado Army National Guard in the search for missing hikers
At approximately 7 a.m. today the COARNG launched a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with a crew of four from the High Altitude Aviation Training Site to search for two missing male hikers at their last known location just below the summit of the Mount of the Holy Cross. The COARNG also transported civilian ground rescue teams to the site at approximately 13,500 feet.
The helicopter crew noticed a signal mirror at approximately 8 a.m., while inserting the second of two ground search teams.
While enroute to hover over the suspected area where the mirror was seen, the helicopter crew identified two distressed hikers. The crew was able to land safely and pick up the hikers a few minutes later.
The hikers were transported to the incident command post for hand off to Eagle County sheriff's office personnel. Their condition was reported as good.
The COARNG helicopter then returned to pick up the search teams.
HAATS is located in the small mountain town of Gypsum, Colo., near Vail. While the primary role of the facility is to train helicopter pilots from various branches of service about flying in high-altitude conditions, the facility also assists with search and rescue missions when needed.
For nearly 150 years, the Colorado National Guard has served our nation in wartime and is the first military responder during state emergencies. CONG Citizen-Soldiers and Citizen-Airmen are always ready, always there to support civil authorities.
Colorado National Guard rescue efforts are coordinated through the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center. The center ties in to the Federal Aviation Administration's alerting system and the U.S. Mission Control Center.
| Date Taken: | 08.12.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2009 13:54 |
| Story ID: | 37426 |
| Location: | EAGLE COUNTY, US |
| Web Views: | 522 |
| Downloads: | 496 |
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