Deschutes SO SAR rescues fallen, injured skier

Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue crews came to the aid of a Nordic skier who fell and was injured Saturday afternoon in the Swampy Lakes Trail System west of Bend, deputies said.

Dispatchers with 911 got a call around 1:30 p.m. from skier Dylan Treon, reporting that one of his skiing partners, Judy Kerner, 41, of Eugene, had fallen while skiing down a short hill on the trail and was injured, said Deputy Jeff Winters, assistant SAR coordinator.

Treone said Kerner was about two miles out from the Swampy Lakes Sno-Park parking lot, on the Swede Ridge Trail, Winters said.

SAR was notified and two volunteers and a deputy responded from SAR headquarters in Bend with snowmobiles and an ambu-sled. While they were en route, another member of the skiing party continued out to the parking area to help guide responders to the location.

Two other SAR volunteers were in the area when the call came and skied to Kerner’s location. As the first to arrive on scene, they made an initial assessment of the woman’s injuries and determined she would not be able to travel under her own power and would need to be transported by ambu-sled, Winters said. They were able to stabilize Kerner and keep her warm while waiting for the others.

Once the snowmobiles and ambu-sled arrived, the SAR volunteers packed up and loaded Kerner into the ambu-sled. She was then brought back to the parking lot, where the rest of Kerner’s group was waiting for her.

Winters said the woman told them she wanted to seek her own medical treatment and declined treatment or transport from Bend Fire and Rescue EMTs.

Members of Kerner’s group told deputies she is an avid skier, who was well-equipped and physically capable for the terrain she was traveling on.