On Sunday night, 5-16-2021, at about 8:30pm, 911 was notified of an injured hiker on the Heather Lake trail on the Mountain Loop Highway. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue deputy was dispatched and quickly determined from the reporting friends that the person had a leg injury and was not able to walk. The deputy then called out Snohomish County Volunteer Search and Rescue and 14 volunteers responded.

The volunteers headed up the Heather Lake trail and found the injured person and 2 friends about 2 miles up trail. The volunteers then used their wheeled litter to carry the injured person back down to the trailhead; arriving there at about 4:30am to the subject’s waiting and very grateful family and friends.

As always SAR encourages all hikers to carry the Ten Essentials and leave word with a responsible person of where you went and when you’ll be back. Yesterday started out as a beautiful day. But if you get disoriented, lost or injured and can’t move, what started out as a perfect day can become a very long and uncomfortable night.

Thank you to our 14 volunteers for the quick response and successful overnight rescue mission. This would not have been possible without each of you!