Snowshoer twists knee during Tumalo Mtn. descent; DCSO Search and Rescue comes to her aid

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A snowshoer from Redmond suffered a knee injury in a fall while descending Tumalo Mountain Friday morning, prompting a call for help and a rescue by Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue.

County 911 dispatchers got a call around 7:25 a.m. regarding the injured female, an 18-year-old Redmond resident near the top of Tumalo Mountain, near Dutchman Flat Sno-Park, said Deputy Donny Patterson, assistant SAR coordinator.

She was reported to have fallen while descending the peak on snowshoes, causing her to twist her leg and suffer a knee injury, Patterson said. Others in her party were keeping her warm, but the injury inhibited her ability to continue her descent.

A deputy with the sheriff’s office Special Services Division called the reporting party, who said the female would need assistance with a litter to descend to the parking lot.

Ten Search and Rescue volunteers responded to a pager call to help and were able to reach the patient on backcountry skis and snowshoes, arriving around 10:25 a.m., Patterson said.

Members of the medical team assessed her physical condition and provided aid, placing her in a rescue sled. She was then taken about a mile down to the sno-park parking lot and helped into a personal vehicle, saying she would seek her own medical care.