An Idaho woman is battered and bruised but alive after being trapped for nine hours by a 1.5-ton granite boulder that tumbled on top of her during a hike.
Ammi Midstokke, 36, was hiking on Chimney Rock in Northern Idaho Friday when the boulder gave way and first hit her in the head and then landed on her foot, pinning her down.
“I tried to scramble out of the way, but I was a little delirious from the first impact,” Midstokke told local ABC affiliate KXLY.
Midstokke’s hiking partner, Jason Luthy, a trained paramedic, tried to nudge the boulder himself before calling 911.
“She’s scared,” Luthy can he heard saying on the 911 call. “We’re going to make her as comfortable as possible.”
Midstokke was trapped under the boulder for nearly nine hours before Priest Lake Search and Rescue officials were able to make it to the pair’s remote location.
The eight-person rescue team left around 8 p.m. and did not reach Midstokke and Luthy until nearly five hours later, around 1 a.m., due to the narrow and rocky terrain, according to a statement from the Fairchild Air Force Base, which later joined the rescue efforts.
“That was a relief,” Midstokke said of seeing rescuers arrive. “I knew I would be taken care of.”
The rescuers used a rope and pulley system to lift the rock off of her foot.
The rescue was not over yet as Midstokke was unable to hike back on her own. The team of rescuers, Midstokke and Luthy waited another seven hours for daylight and a rescue helicopter to arrive.
When the helicopter, dispatched from the Fairchild Air Force Base, made it to their location, the mountain’s terrain was too treacherous to land. The helicopter pilot had to hover over as a flight surgeon was lowered down to prepare Midstokke for transplant.
Finally, around 8:30 Saturday morning, Midstokke was placed in a basket and lifted up to the chopper. Once the helicopter landed, she was transported by ambulance to a local hospital.
“She was smiling and thankful and cheery like she always is,” said one of the rescuers, Glen Cassidy.
Midstokke suffered a broken foot and bruises to her face.