Released by: Dep. Kyle Joye, Assistant Search And Rescue Coordinator
Occurred: 03-27-21 1611 hours
Location: Smith Rock State Park
Rescued: Caroline Hottmann 42 years old, Beaverton, OR
NARRATIVE:
On 03/27/21 at about 4:11 PM, Deschutes County Dispatch received a 911 call from an injured hiker at Smith Rock State Park. The hiker, Ms. Caroline Hottmann, had injured herself while hiking on Misery Ridge. It was reported that Hottmann could not walk and needed assistance. Eleven Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue volunteers, along with one Deputy, and members of the Redmond Fire Department responded to the scene.
Two SAR volunteers were hiking Misery Ridge at the time of this call and were notified via the emergency paging system. These volunteers arrived within 30 minutes of the initial call. These volunteers began to work immediately on patient care as well as extrication plans while Redmond Fire Department personnel and remaining SAR personnel were responding.
The remaining SAR volunteers and Redmond Fire hiked up to Hottmann’s location with a wheeled litter. Hottmann was loaded into the wheeled litter and transported down the Mesa Verde Trail to the Crooked River. Hottmann was then shuttled across the river in a Redmond Fire Department rubber raft. Hottmann was tranported by ambulance to St. Charles Medical Center in Redmond for further medical treatment.
The Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office is a full service agency that oversees the adult jail, provides patrol, criminal investigations, civil process and search and rescue operations. Special units include SWAT, Marine Patrol, ATV Patrol, Forest Patrol, along with six K9 teams. Founded in 1916 and today led by your duly elected Sheriff L. Shane Nelson, the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office serves over 200,000 residents in Deschutes County. The agency has 259 authorized and funded personnel, which includes 191 sworn employees who provide services to the 3,055 square miles of Deschutes County.
