Archive image: An MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter assigned to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island’s (NAS) Search and Rescue (SAR) unit takes off from a training area near.
The SAR team provides search and rescue and medevac assistance to military and civilians throughout the Pacific Northwest.
U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class John Hetherington.
NAVAL AIR STATION WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash. – A Search and Rescue (SAR) MH-60S Knighthawk team from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island conducted the rescue of a hiker along the near Loomis, Washington, on August 10, 2025.
The hiker, a 54-year-old man, was experiencing dehydration and stroke-like symptoms after collapsing the previous day following a hike along the Chewuch River. NAS Whidbey Island’s SAR team received notification from AFRCC late that afternoon and reached the man’s destination at around 7:20 that evening. Once the rescue aircrew arrived on scene immediately spotted the ground rescue team and inserted rescue crewmembers. The MH-60S Knighthawk SAR crew hoisted him aboard and reached St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bellingham around 8:30 p.m.
That was the fourth rescue mission U.S. Navy SAR conducted over the past two weeks, with three previous missions all occurring along portions of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).
On July 27, they rescued a 73-year-old female hiker who had sustained multiple injuries in a nighttime fall while hiking along the PCT near Pear Lake. A group of hikers had found the injured woman in a very isolated, and difficult to reach portion of the trail and contacted emergency services. Once on scene, the MH-60S Knighthawk SAR crew immediately located the survivor due to the flashlights she and the other hikers around her used to illuminate their position. SAR dropped off the injured woman off at Harborview Medical Center shortly after 10 p.m.
On August 3, the Navy SAR unit rescued a 20-year-old hiker from the northern terminus of the PCT who was reportedly suffering from acute food poisoning and had been unable to retain food for several days. After reaching the young man that night around 9:45 p.m. they flew him to St. Joesph’s Hospital.
The other mission from the PCT occurred August 6 when an 81-year-old man fell and broke his ankle while hiking near Glacier Peak in Snohomish County. Initially, the base SAR team was unable to accept the mission due to inadequate cloud ceilings and visibility in the man’s location. Those conditions cleared by that evening, allowing the SAR night crew to launch around 6 that evening, extract the injured man and drop him off at Harborview Medical Center around 8:45 p.m.
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island SAR team conducted 26 missions this calendar year, which includes 3 MEDEVAC missions, 2 searches and 21 rescues.
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island SAR
The U.S. Navy SAR unit operates three MH-60S Knighthawk helicopters from NAS Whidbey Island as search and rescue and medical evacuation (SAR and MEDEVAC) platforms for the EA-18G Growler aircraft as well as other squadrons and personnel assigned to the installation.
Pursuant to the National SAR Plan of the United States, the unit may also be used for civil SAR / MEDEVAC needs to the fullest extent practicable on a non-interference basis with primary military duties according to applicable national directives, plans, guidelines and agreements; specifically, the unit may launch in response to tasking by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (based on a Washington State Memorandum of Understanding) for inland missions, and/or tasking by the United States Coast Guard for all other aeronautical and maritime regions, when other assets are unavailable.
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