Moab cliff fall rescue

A parent hiking with family near Cummings Arch outside Moab fell about 70 to 80 feet on April 10 and was airlifted out in critical condition. (moabsunnews.com) Grand County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue said the family of four was visiting for spring break in Pritchett Canyon when the group split up and one adult got too close to a cliff edge. A child heard screaming, ran to alert the other parent, and the uninjured parent used a satellite emergency feature on a phone to contact 911. (kutv.com) Rescuers said the adult fell 70 to 80 feet, then tumbled another 50 feet down slickrock before stopping in a sandstone gully. The patient had open fractures and possible internal injuries, according to local reports citing rescuers. (sltrib.com) The site was only about five miles from Moab as the crow flies, but Grand County rescuers said the rough trail into Pritchett Canyon can take as long as three hours one way by vehicle. That distance made helicopters central to the response. (breitbart.com) An Intermountain Health medical helicopter landed about 150 yards from the patient, then shuttled rescuers, rope gear and oxygen into the canyon. A second helicopter from the Utah Department of Public Safety later helped retrieve personnel and equipment. (moabsunnews.com) On the ground, search-and-rescue members drilled anchor bolts into rock and rigged a lowering system with ropes, webbing, carabiners and descent devices. They lowered the patient to the wash floor, carried the litter to the landing zone and flew the adult to a trauma center. (moabsunnews.com) The full operation took just under three hours from the fall to liftoff from the scene. Grand County rescuers said the same extraction could have taken 10 to 12 hours without helicopter support. (moabsunnews.com) Rescuers said many cliff edges around Moab are hard to read from above because they slope gently at first and then turn vertical. Officials said no one saw the fall, and the cause remains unknown. (kutv.com)