Officials just released stunning footage from a recent hiker rescue. The video shows a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agent leap out of a hovering helicopter to save a man stranded in the snow beneath.
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The hiker, an Australian national who was traveling through the Huachuca Mountains of southern Arizona, first went missing on Thursday, February 23. The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, which manages local backcountry rescue operations, was quickly deployed to find him.
Rescuers scoured the mountain range and ultimately located the man, but by that point, the weather had begun to deteriorate. So, they called up CBP to request helicopter assistance. But as conditions worsened, the teams realized that it would be impossible to launch an aircraft that night.
It was doubtless a tough decision. Though the Huachuca Mountains are far south, they reach elevations up to 9,400 feet above sea level. In the winter, temperatures frequently drop below freezing. The patient was forced to spend the night in the snow at high elevation.
At long last, conditions cleared on Friday morning, and rescuers leapt to his aid. Once there, the officers were able to act quickly and get him to safety.
“This could have been a tragic fatal outcome if not for the diligence of the agents,” CBP said in a press release. The officers managed to film the entire rescue, and the footage is mesmerizing.
The resulting video, released earlier this week, provides an intimate look into what it’s actually like to be involved in a backcountry rescue — either as a rescuer or as a patient. The footage shows everything from the moment when the rescuer leaps out of the airborne helicopter, to the hiker getting hoisted up to safety in the belly of the aircraft.
Rescue footage is a valuable training tool for rescuers, and useful for recreational hikers who want to understand exactly how backcountry rescue works. Just last month, Zion National Park released incredible infrared footage of a recent rescue. The video illustrates what it’s like to search for stranded hikers in complex terrain in the middle of the night — and just how powerful modern imaging technology can be.
The rescued hiker was flown to waiting medical professionals. They were able to assess him for hypothermia and other injuries. CBP’s Air and Marine Operations departments, the team behind this mission, has helped execute 60 rescues in the past year alone.
