CUSICK, Wash. — A teen who fell down a cliff and had to be rescued by the Air Force is now recovering after breaking an arm, getting a head injury and hypothermia in the fall.
On June 21, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) responded to a 911 call regarding a teen who fell several hundred feet on a mountainside near Cusick in Pend Oreille County.
Three teens had been climbing the cliffs about a mile away from the Pend Oreille River when one fell. The other teens then climbed down and found him bleeding from the head and unconscious, but breathing, WDFW said.
Multiple agencies responded for a large-scale rescue.
Their exact location wasn’t immediately clear and the teens were cold and wet, and worried their friend wouldn’t make it if help didn’t come soon.
After about an hour of climbing, rescuers were able to get to all three teens.
The two teens who had not fallen had only minor injuries and were walked back to safety.
The teen who fell was conscious at the time he was located but was badly hurt with severe head trauma and complaining of a broken arm. He was also extremely cold and was beginning to experience stages of shock and hypothermia.
Medical staff were able to stabilize the teen, but the conditions of the landscape made it impossible for him to walk out with the injuries that he had.
The local medevac helicopter was unable to reach the area due to the remote and steep location, and so a WDFW officer requested the aid of the U.S. Air Force, since the Rescue Squadron team was stationed out of Tacoma Creek, which is close enough to the site.
The teen was able to be safely airlifted off the cliff to stable ground.
The teen ended up having multiple fractures and broken bones, but is alive and beginning his recovery, according to his father.
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