Sheriff's Helicopter Rescues Stranded Hiker in Marin County
On 8/29/14 at approximately 5:30 PM the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Helicopter Henry 1 was requested to respond to the area of Muir Beach in Marin County to assist with a rescue of a male subject stranded on a cliff above Pirates Cove. The subject attempted to scale a cliff approximately 250 feet high and became stranded approximately 200 feet up.
The Henry 1 crew consists of a pilot, deputy Sheriff/EMT and a Paramedic, all trained to perform long line rescues.
The Henry one crew arrived on scene and observed the subject straddling a rock outcropping and clinging to the cliff. Henry 1 landed on a bluff above the victim where Fire Crews and National Park personnel were staged. The Henry 1 crew configured the aircraft for a long line rescue, attaching a rope to the belly of the aircraft. Henry 1 flew to the victim on the 100 foot long line, and a crew member was able to straddle a rock outcropping behind the victim and quickly placed him in a rescue device known as a horse collar.
As soon as the victim was secured on the horse collar, Henry 1 flew the uninjured victim to awaiting EMS personnel in the Muir Beach parking lot. The entire mission took the Henry 1 crew approximately 1 hour, from the time they received the call to the time they returned to the Henry 1 hangar at the Charles Schulz Airport in Sonoma County.
The entire Henry 1 crew routinely trains for long line rescues in the ocean, on cliffs and other remote areas located along the North Coast. For additional information on the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Helicopter unit, please visit www.friendsofhenry1.org
Prepared by Deputy Sheriff Chris Mahoney (707) 565-7195
Address/Location
Sonoma County Sheriff's Office
2796 Ventura Ave
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
Contact
Emergency: 9-1-1
Non-emergencies: 707-565-2650