A Connecticut man had to be rescued by Black Hawk helicopter after breaking his leg while hiking in New Hampshire's White Mountains over Memorial Day Weekend.
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department said it received an SOS signal around 11:30 a.m. Sunday from the Edmands Col Cutoff Trail in Thompson & Meserves Purchase. The company monitoring the device had no additional information about the type or cause of the emergency notification.
Shortly thereafter, a 911 call was received in the same location, Fish and Game officials said. But the call was brief and was dropped after a report of a serious injury was relayed.
The location of the SOS signal and the dropped 911 call was about 4-1/2 miles from the nearest road, on the exposed ridgeline between Mount Jefferson and Mount Adams, officials said. With no ability to confirm the event and the likelihood that it was a potentially life-threatening situation, a call was placed to the New Hampshire National Guard with a request for helicopter support.
The National Guard scrambled a crew and provided a Black Hawk helicopter, authorities said. While waiting for the helicopter, two Randolph Mountain Club caretakers were contacted and volunteered to hike up to the ridge in an effort to locate the source of the emergency. Fish and Game conservation officers also started hiking up with a litter and other gear using Lowe's Patch.
The National Guard helicopter launched from Concord just after 3 p.m.
A short time afterward, the two caretakers came upon a hiker with a severely broken leg on the exposed ridgeline.
The hiker, identified by authorities as Andrew Davis, 27, of West Hartford, Connecticut, had crawled over three-tenths of a mile from where he initially suffered the injury to the junction of Edmands Col Cutoff Trail to the area of Gulfside Trail and Randolph Path.
Around 3:40 p.m., the Black Hawk helicopter arrived at the location and was able to land. A medic and crew chief were able to put Davis in a litter and load him into the helicopter. The Black Hawk took Davis to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin for treatment.
Fish and Game officials said the National Guard helicopter saved dozens of potential rescuers from having to hike several miles and carry the injured hiker through dangerous terrain, which would have lasted into the early morning hours on Monday.
Davis is an experienced hiker who has completed an Appalachian Trail hike and has conducted multiple hikes in the White Mountains over the years, according to Fish and Game officials. They said he had all of the proper gear for a prolonged stay in the mountains, including a tent and sleeping back.
