On the morning of Thursday April 27 at 10:39, the Prescott Regional Communications Center received a call regarding a stranded hiker north of Watson Lake.
Engines from the Prescott Fire Department and Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority responded to the Watson Lake area. Fire crews hiked into the scene where they found a female hiker in her 20’s near the junction of the Flume and Watson Dam trails. The hiker stated she was hiking alone around 7:30 AM when she left the trail to scramble over some boulders. Her left leg slipped through a crevice past her knee and became wedged between the boulders. The patient was unable to free herself and cried for help for over three hours before getting the attention of a passing hiker who called 911 for help.
The hiker was assessed by Paramedics and Technical Rescue Technicians who devised a plan to safely extricate the patient without causing further injury. Fire crews were able to hoist and free the patient after lubricating the patient’s leg and constructing a custom harness to assist in lifting. The patient was secured into a Stokes basket and carried out by fire personnel and members of the Yavapai County Backcountry Search and Rescue Team and transported by ambulance to Yavapai Regional Medical Center
