Happened in Seattle area over the wknd: rescuers two hikers

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Snohomish rescuers trying to save two hikers
By The Associated Press
GRANITE FALLS — Snohomish County Search and Rescue is involved in two separate operations to save hikers in distress.
One team dispatched Sunday is with a hiker who hurt a leg in a fall on Three Fingers Mountain, about 11 miles east of Granite Falls.

A second team is helping another hiker with a leg injury in the Glacier Peak Wilderness.

KOMO-TV reports he used a ham radio to call for help Sunday. The signal was picked up by someone in Bozeman, Mont., who called Snohomish Search and Rescue.

Cold weather is hampering rescuers. The National Weather Service says the snow level is dropping Monday to 4,500 feet.

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The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office has rescued one hiker and is in the midst of rescuing a second man in the North Cascades.

One team was dispatched Sunday following reports that a man had fallen down a glacier the previous day on Three Fingers Mountain, near Granite Falls. The man, who fell about 200 feet, called from his cellphone to say that he had a number of minor injuries and needed help to hike out, said sheriff's Lt. Rodney Rochon.

Shortly after 2 p.m. a helicopter picked up the man and he was flown to Providence Regional Medical Center Everett for treatment, Rochon said.

A second team is helping another hiker with a possible fractured leg at Buck Pass. The hiker sought help on Sunday via a Hamm Radio, the signal was picked up by somebody in Montana. This person contacted rescue crews in Snohomish County, Rochon said. Authorities communicated with the man through Morse code before reaching him today.

Rescue crews have loaded the man onto a horse to take him to safety, Rochon said. They are expected to be out of the wilderness later today.

Cold weather is hampering rescuers. The National Weather Service says the snow level is dropping today to 4,500 feet.