August 25, 2021
On Wednesday, Aug. 25 at approx. 0056 Custer County SAR was activated to respond to a subject at Macey Lake who was having a medical emergency. SAR Ground and ATV teams were fielded at 0430 to begin hiking to the subject. REACH Air Medical Services provided aerial support but was unable to find a suitable landing zone in the dark. At 0700 a Ground Team reached the subject and performed a medical assessment. Flight For Life Colorado launched from Pueblo and was able to land at the lake. They were then able to transport the subject from the lake for further medical care. All teams were out of the field by 1115. We thank our partners at REACH Air Medical and Flight For Life for their assistance on this mission.
In this case, the party was carrying a Garmin inReach which allowed them to have direct communication with SAR Operations. They were able to provide their exact location and could communicate critical medical information. We advise carrying a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) in the backcountry as it can greatly influence the success of the mission.
