KY search and rescue officials help two injured hikers in Red River Gorge
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wolfe County Search & Rescue coordinated two emergency responses on Saturday.
- Rescuers aided a hornet-stung hiker and an injured man with leg fractures.
- Teams from Powell, Lee, and Menifee counties assisted in both successful rescues.
Two rescues were performed in the Red River Gorge area on Saturday, with multiple Kentucky search and rescue teams responding.
Around 2:15 p.m., the Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team received a report that a man had fallen at the base of Cloud Splitter. A few minutes later, the team received a separate 911 call from a group of people who found an unresponsive hiker.
The Wolfe County team said it called Powell County Search & Rescue and Lee County Search & Rescue asking for assistance. Wolfe County officials went to help the unresponsive hiker, who was found on the Sheltowee Trace, about 1.25 miles past Cloud Splitter.
The hiker was stung by ground hornets and was unresponsive for about 15 minutes before the group of people who called 911 found him, according to the Wolfe County team. The hiker recovered and was in stable condition by the time officials arrived, and he was cleared to walk back to the trailhead with an EMT and the group who called 911.
The rest of the Wolfe County team went to Cloud Splitter to assist with the man who fell. The Wolfe County team said he suffered lower leg fractures, and officials applied an air splint to his lower right leg.
Officials then placed the man in a Stokes basket and took him to an ambulance. The Wolfe County team said officials used a series of low-angle rope systems to conduct the rescue.
“We thank our friends from Powell and Lee counties for a very successful coordinated effort, and the large contingent of team members who came, along with the Menifee County Ambulance Service,” the Wolfe County team said in a Facebook post.
