Prineville hunter hangs upside-down 2 days, critically injured

(Update: Hunter identified, in drug-induced coma at Wash. hospital)

A hunter from Prineville who fell out of his northeast Oregon tree stand and got tangled in his safety harness was rescued after hanging upside-down for two days about 30 feet in the air. But he suffered critical injuries and was reported to be in a drug-induced coma at a Richland, Wash. hospital.

The Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office said deputies and Sheriff’s Search and Rescue members responded Tuesday to a hunting camp about 20 miles east of Ukiah, north of state Highway 244.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office said the hunter found the man over 20 feet in the air around 11:15 a.m. Tuesday, still conscious. They said the call was sent to the Union County Dispatch Center in La Grande and medical units were sent, along with Union County Search and Rescue, which is trained and equipped for high angle-rope rescue.

When deputies arrived, the man, identified by the East Oregonian newspaper in Pendleton as Eddie Voelker, 70, said he had been stuck there for two days, before being found by another hunter.

The La Grande Observer said the other hunter who found the man drove to a nearby highway to get cellphone reception and call 911.

Sheriff’s deputies from the two counties, along with, U.S. Forest Service and medics from La Grande and Pendleton, removed the hunter from the harness with an Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative “bucket truck.”

The La Grande newspaper reports that Voelker lost consciousness and his heart stopped beating about halfway through the rescue because blood flow that had been cut off to his lower body was suddenly restored.

Rescuers were prepared for the possibility of “compartment syndrome” and had established a landing zone for a Life Flight helicopter to airlift him to a regional hospital.

The Pendleton newspaper said Voelker was flown to Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland, Wash., where staff said he was in critical condition.

A family friend, Jeanette Jacoby, told the paper Voelker was in a drug-induced coma after doctors performed a procedure Wednesday to relieve pressure on his brain. She said he was breathing on his own for a while, but doctors put him back on a ventilator Thursday.

Jacoby said Voelker was alone on the trip, but had his dogs with him at the campsite. His family retrieved the dogs and some hunting gear the day after he was found. She also said the family wants to thank the rescuers and everyone who helped him.