KSWO, Lawton, OK- Wichita Falls, TX: News, Weather, Sports. ABC, 24/7, Telemundo - Two men rescued off Elk Mountain

Two men rescued off Elk Mountain

WICHITA MOUNTAINS WILDLIFE REFUGE-  A group hike turned into an 18 hour nightmare at the Wildlife Refuge this weekend for two men.  Five people went hiking late Saturday afternoon on Elk Mountain. At some point two split off from the rest of the group.   Then around 7:30 Saturday night one of the hikers slipped and fell 30 feet near an area known as the Apple and the Pear.

The Apple and the Pear are known for their apple and pear shaped boulders.  The other hiker used his cell phone to call
for help but ended up falling 20 or 30 feet himself.  At that point he couldn't tell rescuers any more because his
cell phone service was cut off. That set off a rescue mission that took almost a day to complete.

Two things complicated the rescue.  The first was the extreme heat.
Temperatures were well over 100 degrees both days and that hampered rescue efforts.
The other was the fact that both men fell into very rugged and rocky areas that are hard to
reach.
It took rescuers until 2:30 Sunday morning just to find the first hiker.

Then once they found the first hiker rescuers began listening for voices because they could not
see anything in the pitch black night.  Then they finally reached both men. 
"After we ended up finding the last one we bandaged him up best we could," said Refuge Manager Ralph Bryant.
Then they called in an Oklahoma National Guard helicopter from Tulsa which got there Sunday afternoon.
"Eventually we were able to get the first guy in the basket and we lowered him down hand over hand off the mountain.  The helicopter landed close to us and we lifted him to the ambulance," said Bryant.

Then the national guard helicopter went and found the second hiker and it lifted him to the ambulance which took both men to the hospital.  "One had a busted ankle.  The other was complaining of back injuries," said Bryant.  Bryant says the two were lucky.

"They were in a group and there were several people hiking together. That helped them."  There is also a stark reminder in these mountains of just how dangerous it is to hike alone.  There is a plaque dedicated to Dr. Phil Mitchell.   Dr. Mitchell was hiking in 1992 alone when he fell and died.  Ironically it's in the exact same spot that the hiker fell Saturday night.  The phrase on the plaque says "don't ever go alone."

Bryant says because the  men went hiking in a group instead of alone, this played a key role in their rescue.   Even so, he says the men forgot one thing, something in a group or not they should have brought along.   "Always take water especially when it's 100 degrees or more.
They came in and went climbing without any water at all," said Bryant.

Bryant says in addition to their leg and back injuries the men were also dehydrated.
But none of their injuries were life threatening.  Bryant says one other thing that really helped the men out was cell phone antenna boosters installed about 3 weeks ago in the Refuge.  He says those boosters made it possible for the first hiker to call for help.