Rescuers find hiker missing for two weeks in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge

Rescue teams have found a hiker who had been missing for more than two weeks in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, a wilderness area full of steep cliffs and jagged terrain. And a single footprint helped them locate him.

48-year-old Scott A Hern was found on Saturday afternoon near a cliff line after a rescue team heard him calling for help. Hern, from Ohio, was hoisted out of the rugged area by helicopter after Wolfe County rescuers contacted Kentucky State Police for assistance.

Rescuers with Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team say Hern had been hiking in the area to look for waterfalls . His car had been parked at the Gorge since July 6th and his family had not seen him since July 5.

Search crews have been conducting an intense search for Hern since then, using dogs and drawing on information from a journal Hern had been writing about locations he wanted to explore in the Red River Gorge.

“We were persistent in our search, but hope was fading,” said the Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team in a Facebook post detailing the rescue.

“We learned from his diary that he had visited Bell Falls along Highway 715. Although the falls had been previously checked and even some areas above the falls, the decision was made to continue north up the creek to clear the area completely. The search group found a shoe print and evidence of a walking stick in an area that few travel.

“They continued pushing up the creek when they heard someone yell for help. The five-person team then worked for some time to locate Scott up a steep embankment below a cliff line.”

The post also said that Hern was in need of medical attention upon his rescue but no information on his health was available Sunday afternoon.

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