IRON COUNTY — A man and a woman who became stranded in the Parowan Canyon area while hiking on Tuesday were successfully rescued by helicopter, authorities said.
Then, in Cedar Canyon on Wednesday morning, the same helicopter crew hoisted an injured hiker who’d fallen while hiking with a group of friends.
Tuesday’s incident
Iron County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Humphries said Tuesday’s incident involved a 28-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman who were hiking within the Hidden Haven trail system in the afternoon.
“They hiked up to a high elevation and came off trail onto a steep cliff,” Humphries told Cedar City News. “They found themselves unable to hike back out.”
An SUU Aviation helicopter was able to locate the stranded hikers and land a short distance away, Humphries said, adding that an Iron County Sheriff’s deputy and the helicopter pilot were able to make contact with the hikers. Meanwhile, the Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter known as Star 7 arrived on scene shortly thereafter.
The DPS helicopter then hoisted and transported both hikers back down to the trailhead, Humphries said. No injuries were reported.
Iron County’s Search and Rescue personnel, including its ropes team, were dispatched to the scene as well, Humphries added.
The incident was wrapped up by approximately 5 p.m., he said.
Wednesday’s incident
Wednesday’s incident in Cedar Canyon reportedly happened shortly before noon near the Ashdown Gorge area, several miles up the canyon.
Iron County Sheriff’s Lt. David Mitchell told Cedar City News that a 71-year-old woman was hiking with two other couples along the creek, making their way to Flanagan’s Arch.
“While taking steps backwards to take a photo, she fell and hurt her shoulder and possibly broke her hip,” Mitchell said.
The DPS Star 7 helicopter was able to hoist the injured woman from the scene and to a waiting Gold Star Ambulance in the parking area on the north side of state Route 14.
The woman was then transported to Cedar City Hospital for treatment.
Embedded below is a short raw video clip of one of the hikers being hoisted on Tuesday, courtesy of Iron County Sheriff’s Office:
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