Wyoming Authorities Rescue Man Who Fell Into Creek, Was Carried Over Falls
A man was rescued over the weekend after falling into a fast-moving creek and being carried over a waterfall in Sublette County.
Shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday, a woman called 911 and said her husband had fallen into Boulder Creek and was carried over the falls, where she lost sight of him.
Sublette County Sheriff's deputies, EMS, a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper and members of Tip Top Search and Rescue were dispatched immediately.
The woman then told a dispatcher she found her husband about 700 feet downstream from the falls, stranded on a rock on the middle of the creek.
Deputies and members of the search and rescue team made their way to the scene, some three miles above Boulder Lake Lodge, via the county-leased helicopter, hiking and horseback.
Due to the "extreme safety hazard" of putting another person into the fast-moving water, a "short haul" rescue was performed, the sheriff's office said in a news release.
Using a rope, a search and rescue team member was lowered from the helicopter to the rock. He put a life jacket and an extraction suit onto the stranded man, and both men were flown to a staging area at Boulder Lake Lodge. EMS was waiting and took over the man's medical care upon his arrival.
The man was taken to Sweetwater County Memorial Hospital to be checked out, and was released with only minor injuries.
"This was an extremely dangerous mission with the best possible outcome," Sheriff' K.C. Lehr wrote in Monday's news release. "This rescue was successful due to the quick response and interoperability of all emergency agencies who responded. The rescue was facilitated by the staff and trail teams of Boulder Lake Lodge to which we owe a huge thanks."
Lehr reminds the public of the extreme water hazards which still exist in Sublette County. The sheriff asks everyone to only go to the water's edge with proper protective equipment, as many hidden obstacles near the water can place people at risk.