August 17, 2022 2:20 p.m.
Two hikers were rescued by Douglas County Search and Rescue in the Boulder Creek Wilderness on Monday, after activating a SPOT device SOS notification.
Lieutenant Brad O’Dell of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said at 12:15 p.m. 911 dispatchers received information from the SPOT Monitoring service that the hikers had pressed an SOS alarm indicating they needed emergent assistance. O’Dell said the GPS coordinates from the device indicated the hikers were roughly in the middle of the Boulder Creek Wilderness area on the Umpqua National Forest.
Search and Rescue crews were activated and responded to the incident. Due to the terrain and the location where the hikers were, it took searchers until 7:30 p.m. to reach them. It was determined that the hikers, 27-year old Scarlet Kelley and 22-year old Kita Hastings, both of Roseburg, were slightly dehydrated and underprepared for the conditions but were otherwise stable. O’Dell said searchers provided the hikers with food, water and clothing before beginning to lead them out to a trail where horseback teams were standing by. O’Dell said the horses were able to get positioned as closely to the hikers as possible, due to the efforts of recent volunteer work to clear a trail system in the wilderness area.
The DCSO release said due to the difficult terrain, downed trees, hazards and darkness, it took approximately 7.5 hours for the rescue teams to reach the waiting horses. Once at the horses, the hikers were led out by searchers on horseback arriving to safety Tuesday morning just after 7:30 a.m.
O’Dell said in total, the mission lasted just over 19 hours. The hikers were released to a friend who transported them home.
O’Dell said, “The volunteers of Douglas County Search and Rescue and our partner agencies work and train hard for these types of missions and their efforts show. I couldn’t be prouder of this team”.
Douglas County Search and Rescue was assisted by DCSO, Oregon State Police – Fish and Game Division, U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement, the Oregon State SAR Coordinator and the SPOT Device Response Center.