ST. GEORGE — A woman exhibiting symptoms of stroke while hiking with friends near Snow Canyon State Park was airlifted from the area by Intermountain Life Flight Helicopter teams Friday.
“About one o’clock this afternoon we were paged to a hiker in distress near the Scout Cave,” St. George Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Hooper said. “It was reported she was having some stroke-like symptoms at the time. We requested Life Flight to respond and assist with this.”
Scout Cave is a popular hiking destination approximately one mile southeast of Snow Canyon State Park.
The Life Flight helicopter crew found the stricken hiker, a 50-year-old woman, and airlifted her from the scene. The woman had been in the company of two other hikers when she began exhibiting stroke-like symptoms.
“We were aided with the assistance of Gold Cross (ambulance,) St. George Fire Department as well as search and rescue, who sent about eight to 10 members out to assist in this just in case the helicopter was not able to get to her,” Hooper said.
Rescue and emergency teams set up a staging area in The Cliffs subdivision north of Snow Canyon Parkway. Teams on ATVs and on foot drove and hiked a short spur road towards Scout Cave, and then hiked south towards the Paradise Rim area — the high plateau overlooking much of Snow Canyon Parkway — where the hiker was located. Before they were able to reach the hiker, Life Flight arrived and airlifted her.
While the temperature in the afternoon was quite warm, it did not appear that heat was a factor in causing the hiker’s debilitating symptoms, Hooper said.
Washington County Sheriff’s Deputy Darrell Cashin said the two remaining hikers were escorted out by search and rescue members.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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