Idaho Army National Guard photo.
Story by Maj. Robert Taylor , Idaho Army National Guard
STANLEY, Idaho – A UH-72 Lakota helicopter flight crew from the Idaho Army National Guard State Aviation Group assisted with the search and rescue of a 44-year-old woman hiker 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 rescue helicopter flight crew assisted the Elmore County Sheriff’s Department and the Boise Fire Department with the rescue of the woman, 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 helicopter hoist operator lifted Carrico and the injured hiker into the UH-72A Lakota aircraft. The woman was transported to Gowen Field, where an Ada County Paramedics ambulance (EMS) picked her up for further medical treatment.
The UH-72 helicopter aircrew 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 (SAR) 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 Hawk helicopters transported injured hikers from remote areas in extreme weather conditions at high altitudes.
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