Update 12:15 p.m. Thursday: Alaska State Troopers say a ground-based rescue party was able to reach an injured Kansas woman who camped overnight Tuesday on the Crow Pass Crossing between Eagle River and Girdwood.
An updated trooper dispatch Thursday said Alaska Mountain Rescue Group volunteers riding all-terrain vehicles deployed at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. They found 34-year-old Sarah Schoeller about 3 1/2 miles from the Eagle River Nature Center trailhead.
"(Schoeller) walked to an area where ATVs could be used and was transported by ATV to the trailhead," troopers wrote. "All rescuers exited the trail system with no injuries at approximately (5:34 p.m.). The injured hiker refused medical treatment and planned on making her own arrangements for treatment."
A LifeMed air ambulance had been sent to pick Schoeller up when she suffered an injury on the trail that initially prevented her from walking Tuesday evening, but wasn't able to reach her due to weather. Schoeller and a companion camped for the evening, as the third member of their party hiked out to summon help.
Original story:
A ground team was en route Wednesday to an injured Kansas woman on the Crow Pass Crossing between Eagle River and Girdwood, following a failed attempt to reach her by helicopter Tuesday evening.
An Alaska State Troopers dispatch issued late Tuesday said that a LifeMed air ambulance was turned back by poor weather and fog when it tried to pick up 34-year-old Sarah Schoeller of Hutchinson, Kansas. Troopers were alerted just after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday that Schoeller, 34, had suffered a "non-life threatening injury that made it too difficult and painful for her to walk."
Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said Wednesday that members of the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group were planning to hike along the 23.1-mile trail to the area near the Twin Falls campsite, where Schoeller was injured.
"They're going to essentially package her up and get her to where a helicopter can reach her," Peters said.
There was no immediate word Wednesday on how Schoeller had been injured, Peters said. Although troopers weren't in touch with Schoeller overnight, she was traveling with two other people at the time and had adequate supplies to camp for the evening.
"One of the campers had hiked out and reported to us about her situation, and the other person stayed with her," Peters said. "It doesn't sound like a dire situation; it just sounds like a situation where the victim just can't walk out."