Air Force helicopter used to rescue missing hiker

DENVER (KDVR) — A hiker who did not return while on Silver Creek Trail in Clear Creek County was rescued Tuesday after suffering from a serious injury.

According to the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Office, the 50-year-old hiker did not return from a hike on Monday. By Tuesday morning, his vehicle and other belongings were still at the trailhead.

First responders were able to get in contact with the man by phone, but it took several hours for a rescue team to locate him by foot. He had sustained a serious injury and needed to be evacuated by air.

By 4:45 p.m., a Blackhawk helicopter from Buckley Space Force Base landed at the Flight For Life Colorado location in Dumont, picking up two members of the Alpine Rescue Team.

The two members assisted with hoisting the man from where he was and were successfully able to evacuate him with the help of the Blackhawk helicopter. The helicopter returned to the Flight For Life location, at which point the man was transferred to a Flight For Life helicopter and taken to a hospital.

Alpine Rescue Team, Clear Creek Emergency Medical Services, Clear Creek Fire Authority and Flight For Life Colorado assisted the sheriff’s office in the rescue.

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