TTSAR helps with rescue near Gannet Peak

PINEDALE – A 36-year-old female from New York was seriously injured while hiking near Gannet Peak with her husband; they were reportedly attempting to traverse a boulder field when the female received an open compound fracture to her femur, resulting in shock and a severe loss of blood.

Jason Ray, with Tip Top Search and Rescue (TTSAR), was contacted by the Fremont County Sheriffs Office in Lander, on Tuesday at 3:35 p.m., requesting a short haul team and use of the TTSAR contract helicopter. Among the personnel from Sublette County that were sent on the rescue were Ray, Eric Marincic and Shaunna McGowan.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office received the emergency call by means of a SPOT emergency alarm device, activated by the victim’s husband at 3 p.m.

“The sheriff’s office coordinated the rescue with the use of a contract helicopter with the Sublette County Search and Rescue Division and professional mountain climbers associated with the Lander Search and Rescue Division,” Sheriff’s Captain Ryan Lee said Wednesday morning, according to a County 10 press release.

A total of seven rescue personnel were flown into the area Tuesday afternoon, and a ground and air search was underway throughout the evening. Rescuers found the victim just prior to dark.

“The area was complicated with boulders and steep terrain that made it impossible to land or hoist the victim from the area; she had to be carried by hand through some of the most difficult terrain in Fremont County, at elevations near 10,000 feet,” Lee explained.

A Classic Lifeguard Air Ambulance out of Riverton flew as far into the area as possible late Tuesday night by the use of night vision, awaiting the rescue team’s arrival. Their paramedic took over care of the patient until she was airlifted to Lander Regional Hospital around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The rescue crews were forced to stay the night at the base of Gannet Peak, but were extracted via helicopter back to Lander’s Hunt Field Airport. The mission was completed Wednesday morning with all team members accounted for.