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Duckabush injured trail runner

JSAR was paged at 12:45 AM on Saturday, February 22, 2020, for the rescue of an injured trail runner on the Duckabush River Trail. Jeffcom 911 dispatch was able to confirm that the subject was located 3.5 or 4 miles up the trail with a reported ankle injury.

Four JSAR volunteers responded to the scene and started up the trail following the crew from Brinnon Fire Department, while a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy managed trailhead coordination and communication. Due to cold temperatures and the reported injury, JSAR and fire personnel coordinated to get fire-department EMTs to the subject as quickly as possible while SAR personnel brought up the equipment necessary to transport the injured subject.

The subject had been injured 9 or 10 miles from the trailhead around 5 PM on Friday. He crawled several miles until his cell phone obtained a signal, which he noticed when he received a text message. He stopped and called 911 to request help then kept moving, eventually relocating himself on his hands and knees 5 or 6 miles from the point of injury before Brinnon Fire personnel located him by voice. They then reached him and started treatment for exposure to cold and a broken ankle.

View from the helicopter as the basket was lowered to retrieve the subject (courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard).

JSAR personnel scouted further up the trail to locate a good landing or hoist zone due to the distance from the trailhead and the number of hours since the subject was injured in sub-freezing temperatures with occasional light precipitation and wearing only light running clothes. A helicopter was requested by JCSO, and the subject was splinted, warmed and moved by wheeled litter to the hoist zone near the top of Big Hump. A U.S. Coast Guard SAR helicopter crew from Air Station Port Angeles flew to the scene and performed a hoist using their rescue basket, then took the runner to Harborview Medical Center for further treatment.

JSAR and Brinnon Fire personnel prepare to catch the tag line from the USCG helicopter and to protect the patient from flying debris during hoist operations.

Trail running is a lightweight endeavor with little clothing and equipment available to a solo runner if something goes wrong. Carrying a charged cell phone and displaying incredible grit and determination to self rescue likely prevented more serious injury in this case.

Rescuers shield the patient while the basket is lowered from the USCG helicopter.