DCSO SAR goes to aid of ill S. Sisters hiker

An Idaho woman who was part of a group that hiked to the summit of South Sisters on Friday later experienced a potentially serious medical condition, prompting an air and ground rescue operation, officials said.

However, her condition improved and she was able to continue on her own without further medical assistance, said Deschutes County sheriff’s Deputy Jim Whitcomb, assistant search and rescue coordinator.

County 911 dispatchers got a call around 5:15 p.m. concerning a 37-year-old Twin Falls, Idaho woman suffering from the potentially serious medical condition, Whitcomb said.

The woman was about a mile north of Moraine Lake on the South Sisters climber’s trail after reaching the summit of the 10,358-foot peak.

A fellow hiker said she was heading down the trail looking for help while the woman’s medical condition was monitored by other fellow hikers.

An air resoource was requested to fly to the woman’s location, and a Life Flight helicopter launched around 5:40 p.m.

A sheriff’s SAR deputy made contact with the woman by phone and learned she was starting to feel better and was going to begin hiking down the trail. Life Flight was canceled shortly before 6 p.m., Whitcomb said.

Two SAR volunteers responded to the Devil’s Lake trailhead and deployed as a hasty team to reach the woman as quickly as possible. Another 11 SAR volunteers followed behind with a wheeled litter, in case it was needed.

The hasty team made contact shortly after 7 p.m. with the woman and the 15 other female hikers she was with from Idaho, Whitcomb said.

After a medical assessment, rescuers determined she would be able to continue down the trail on her own, without the need of the wheeled litter.

The SAR members and hikers arrived at the Devil’s Lake trailhead shortly before 9 p.m. Whitcomb said the woman did not need further assistance and advised she would seek her own medical attention.