Navy SAR rescues four hikers in two weeks
Published 1:30 pm Friday, August 15, 2025
Search and Rescue teams from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island conducted four rescue missions in the wild areas of the state during the last two weeks.
On Aug. 10, a SAR team was called help a hiker near Loomis, Washinton. The 54-year-old man experienced dehydration and stroke-like symptoms after collapsing the previous day following a hike along the Chewuch River. NAS Whidbey Island’s SAR team received notification from AFRCC late that afternoon and reached the man’s destination at around 7:20 that evening.
Once SAR arrived on scene, the crew immediately spotted the ground rescue team and inserted rescue crewmembers. The SAR crew hoisted him aboard and reached St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bellingham around 8:30 p.m.
The previous three rescues occurred along portions of the Pacific Crest Trail.
On July 27, a crew rescued a 73-year-old female hiker who had sustained multiple injuries in a nighttime fall while hiking along the Pacific Crest Trail near Pear Lake. A group of hikers had found the injured woman in a very isolated and difficult-to-reach portion of the trail and contacted emergency services. Once on scene, the SAR crew immediately located the survivor due to the flashlights she and the other hikers around her used to illuminate their position. SAR dropped off the injured woman off at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle shortly after 10 p.m.
On Aug. 3, SAR rescued a 20-year-old hiker from the northern terminus of the trail who was reportedly suffering from acute food poisoning and had been unable to retain food for several days. After reaching the young man that night around 9:45 p.m. the crew flew him to St. Joesph’s Hospital.
The other mission from the Pacific Crest Trail occurred Aug. 6 when an 81-year-old man fell and broke his ankle while hiking near Glacier Peak in Snohomish County. Initially, the base SAR team was unable to accept the mission due to inadequate cloud ceilings and visibility in the man’s location. Those conditions cleared by that evening, allowing the SAR night crew to launch around 6 that evening, extract the injured man and drop him off at Harborview Medical Center around 8:45 p.m.
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island SAR conducted 26 missions this calendar year, which includes three MEDEVACs, two searches and 21 rescues.
The Navy SAR unit operates three MH-60S helicopters from NAS Whidbey Island as search and rescue/medical evacuation platforms for the EA-18G aircraft as well as other squadrons and personnel assigned to the installation. Pursuant to the National SAR Plan of the United States, the unit may also be used for civil SAR/MEDEVAC needs to the fullest extent practicable on a non-interference basis with primary military duties according to applicable national directives, plans, guidelines and agreements; specifically, the unit may launch in response to tasking by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center for inland missions, and/or tasking by the Coast Guard for all other aeronautical and maritime regions, when other assets are unavailable.
