KEYSTONE, S.D. – Pennington County Search and Rescue rescued a hiker who had fallen on the trail down to Hippie Hole on Saturday.
Authorities say just after 5:00 p.m., Rockerville VFD, Keystone Ambulance and Pennington County Search and Rescue were paged to the area where a patient was reported to have a broken ankle and was in and out of consciousness, possibly going into shock.
Due to the status of the patient, both Black Hills LifeFlight and the SD National Guard (hoist rescue) were requested. Additional manpower from Rapid Valley, Whispering Pines, Hill City, and Johnson Siding VFD’s was also requested.
After first arriving crews assessed the patient, the SD National Guard was canceled. The patient was alert and talking, with an ankle injury.
After getting the patient ready to be hauled out of the area via a stokes basket and ropes, another member of the party became unresponsive after standing up quickly.
That patient was given IV fluids and assisted up the trail to the parking lot by medical personnel.
The original patient was hauled out and ultimately transported to the hospital.
