Stranger carries elderly hiker on back for more than a mile

A 79-year-old Washington woman who broke her leg while hiking is alive, thanks to the kindness of a complete stranger.

Ursula Bannister was hiking on Mount Rainier by herself on the afternoon of August 28. She made the 3.1-mile hike to High Rock Lookout, a dazzling viewpoint near Ashford, Washington, where her mother's ashes were scattered years ago.

"I know the trail very well, and there are always many people there," Bannister said in a news release from the U.S. Air Force. "When I couldn't find anyone to accompany me on this outing, I just went by myself."

After having lunch on the platform and leaving some flowers for her mother, Bannister started to maker her way back down the trail when catastrophe struck. She had stepped in a hole and fell, breaking her leg in three places.

The pain that began spreading after the initial shock caused Bannister to cry out for help, which came in the form of several hikers who started making calls to emergency responders and assisting her with medical care. But then they found out it would take hours before a rescue crew could reach her.

Luckily for Bannister, two young men were nearby and able to help. After the group flagged them down, the men jumped into action.

"My first thought was if I could carry her down, I should carry her down and get her there as quickly as I can," said Airman 1st Class Troy May, a heavy aircraft integrated avionics specialist with the 62d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

So that's what May did. He put Bannister on his back and started hiking down the mountain.

"She was definitely in a lot of pain," he said. "I told her just a few more steps and we'd get her there."

May hiked a mile-and-a-half to his vehicle -- helped along the way by his  Layton Allen, who also carried Bannister for a short time -- after which he drove the woman to a nearby hospital.

"Once we got down, we loaded her into her car, elevated her foot and started driving to the hospital," said May. "We met search and rescue about 30 minutes down the road, put ice on her foot, drove the rest of the way to the hospital and waited for her son to get there."

Days later, Bannister called May and Allen to tell them how thankful she was and to let them know that she was recovering. Reports indicate she had to have 10 screws and a plate put in her leg.

"I truly felt that these two guys were meant to be there to save me, and that sort of swam in my subconscious at the time," she said. "I considered them my angels."

For his efforts, the Air Force awarded May with an achievement medal on September 9.

"One of the Air Force's core values is service before self, and Airman 1st Class May clearly exemplified that core value with his actions," said Lt. Col. Joshua Clifford, 62d AMXS commander.