Search and Rescue on the Green River

I started the last week of July by responding with Ranger Russell and Ranger Jaynes to a potential cave search and rescue. We received a call about a visitor passing out while on the wild cave tour. We loaded the stair chair into the truck and I followed the rangers to the elevator. Thankfully, with assistance, the visitor managed to make it to the surface by the time we arrived on scene. It was great news that the visitor had made it to the halfway point of the tour, because any search and rescue efforts deeper into the cave would have been extraordinarily difficult. The visitor refused medical transport and I transported him back to the visitors center.

Later in the day I also assisted with an abandoned vehicle. While on patrol Ranger Russell noticed an abandoned vehicle and trailer parked on the side of the road. I gathered traffic cones and put them out along the roadside to warn motorists of the truck parked along the curve. Later, I returned to the area to check the status of the vehicle. The owners had returned and driven off, which took care of the problem.

The next day I rode along with Ranger Clemons as he ran RADAR in the park. I learned more about how to use RADAR and I got the chance to try and use the unit myself. I also learned more about what to look for while running RADAR, including possible signs of someone driving under the influence. As the day came to a close, we got the call that several people in canoes and kayaks had capsized and were trapped in a strainer. Ranger Clemons, Ranger Sacia, and I launched the rescue boat and went up river in search of the canoers. We found three people on a sunken tree trunk in the middle of a fast moving current and two others similarly trapped. We secured the group of two people first, and towed them over to shallow, slow moving water, where they could safely stand and walk. Next, Ranger Clemons and Ranger Sacia removed the people on the tree trunk, one at a time, while I stood further downstream with a throwbag ready lest anyone be carried downstream. Once everyone was safe and out of the water, we transported them down to the Green River Ferry. Then, we went in search of the capsized canoes. One was pinned in a strainer, and the other was capsized further downstream. We put our swift water rescue skills to the test and thankfully everyone made it off of the river safely.

The next two days were dedicated to my program visit, but that is deserving of its own post -- and I don't have fast enough internet to download and upload the pictures from the visit at this moment.