The Fremont County Sheriff’s Department has released information to County 10 about an incident on Wednesday. A 48-year-old Illinois man was climbing in the Wind River Mountains, near Gannett Peak, when he sustained a 25-30 foot fall, injuring him. Sheriff’s, Sublette County Search and Rescue, and the Wyoming National Guard worked together to airlift the injured man out of the mountains and to SageWest Lander.
A statement below from the Fremont County Sheriff’s office is below, in bold:
On Wednesday, July 17th 2019 at around 11:00 am, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a climbing accident which had occurred in the Wind River Mountains near Gannett Peak. The reports stated that a 48-year-old man from the Chicago area had fallen 25 to 30 feet. A helicopter was dispatched from Sublette County but was unable to perform the rescue due to high winds and the high elevation of around 13,400 feet. The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office then enlisted the assistance of the Wyoming National Guard which was able to provide a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and crew. The Black Hawk helicopter transported members of the Fremont County Search and Rescue team to the area and was able to lower a crew member to the injured man and then hoist him into the helicopter and transport him to the Lander Hospital. The extent of the man’ s injuries are unknown at this time.
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Wyoming National Guard Joint Operations Center and the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office for assistance in this incident.
