Lost Hikers Rescued by Navy Search and Rescue Team on Stephen Peak

NAS Whidbey Island, WA – A Search and Rescue (SAR) team from Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island conducted a rescue of two lost hikers on Saturday, September 15th, 2018 on Stephen Peak in the Olympic National Forest.

According to a press release from Thomas Mills, NAS Whidbey Island Public Affairs Officer, on Saturday morning a SAR team was called in to rescue two male hikers just southwest of Stephen Peak in the Olympic National Forest. The hikers had triggered emergency beacons late the night before  because they were lost and cold at approximately 5,100 feet in bad weather.

The NAS SAR Team found the hikers on a steep trail a little after 9:30 a.m. and hoisted them on board their helicopter. Since they were not injured, they were taken to William Fairchild Airport in Port Angeles, where they were met by Olympic National Park Rangers.

The Navy SAR unit operates three MH-60S helicopters from NAS Whidbey Island as search and rescue/medical evacuation (SAR/MEDEVAC) 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 (based on a Washington State Memorandum of Understanding) for inland missions, and/or tasking by the United States Coast Guard for all other aeronautical and maritime regions, when other assets are unavailable.