Wednesday, April 2 - An injured teenage female hiker was rescued by helicopter from Devils Marble Yard in Arnolds Valley Tuesday afternoon.
According to the Virginia State Police, the state police’s Med-Flight 1, which is based in Chesterfield, was requested for the rescue about 2:45 p.m.
After the request, Med-Flight 1, piloted by VSP pilot Curt Conlin and staffed by Chesterfield firefighters Russell Horne and David Webb, flew to the approximately 93 nautical miles to site. After performing a reconnaissance and reconfiguring the aircraft, the helicopter then flew to the victim, and Webb was lowered to the ground. Webb then secured the patient, and she was hoisted to Med-Flight 1.
The patient was then flown to an area command post for assessment. Because the patient was stable and from the Richmond area, the decision was made to fly her back to a hospital in Central Virginia. The crew then returned to the rescue site and picked up firefighter Webb, reloaded the patient from the command post, and returned to Chesterfield.
Rockbridge Fire and EMS personnel also assisted in the rescue.
The Tuesday rescue came on the 41st anniversary of the creation of Med-Flight. Med-flight is a publicly funded operation and does not charge for its services. Med-flight 1 is a partnership between Virginia State Police and Chesterfield County Fire and EMS.
Photos courtesy of the Virginia State Police
