KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Army National Guard rescued an Appalachian Trail hiker suffering medical distress in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The National Guard said a medical flight crew from the 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion in Knoxville flew out to Silers Bald Shelter around 2 a.m. on April 5 for an emergency air evacuation mission.
Crews said a 27-year-old hiker was located near Silers Bald Shelter along the Tennessee-North Carolina state line after they arrived 30 minutes later. The National Guard said crews searched in the darkness for the victim as park rangers radioed location coordinates and marked the rescue site with a fire and strobe light.
Crews said the thick cloud cover made it difficult to find the victim at first. After spotting the strobe light and fire, the crew used a hoist to lower a flight paramedic to the ground to do a quick medical assessment on the hiker. The crew then hoisted the hiker and paramedic up in the helicopter and took them to the University of Tennessee Medical Center.
The National Guard said the patient arrived at UTMC at 3:30 a.m., saying the mission took less than an hour and a half.
