Sparta-White Co Rescue Squad Responds To Injured Hiker Over Weekend

The Sparta-White County Volunteer Rescue Squad helped an injured hiker Sunday at Virgin Falls.

Assistant Chief Charlie Tollison said the man called for help some two miles into the trail, immobilized from a possible broken knee.

“In that certain area there around what they call the Cable Crossing, we’ve got a spot that we can parallel it with a road that we can get UTVs down, but it’s got a gorge across it,” Tollison said. “So, we set up two different rope systems. One to get him down in the middle of the gorge and one to bring him back up the other side.”

Tollison said crews were on scene for about five hours trying to traverse the terrain. Tollison said an injured hiker is a always serious, but a non-threatening injury to start the spring helped brush up rescue skills.

“We knocked the dust off everything and got everybody back to get ready to do it more,” Tollison said. “I’m sure we’ll have some more this year, but I hope not.”

Tollison said overall, he thinks the response went well considering some new team members responded. Tollison said the rescue team learned a new road this time that would help future rescues.

“Last time we had one in the same spot, we had to carry him an extra mile, and we figured out a way to get a lot closer this time,” Tollison said. “We’re learning the roads a little better. TWRA and the state parks now that they’ve taken over the area they’ve improved some of the older roads and stuff. It got us in a lot closer this time.”