An injured dirt bike rider was airlifted to a hospital Saturday evening, September 19, 2026, after Douglas County Search and Rescue teams found the rider and a partner on a remote trail near Jackson Creek in the Rampart Range area, according to The Denver Gazette. The response brought together ground crews, all-terrain vehicles, a drone team and an air unit. First responders determined that the rider's injuries required hospital care.
The rider was hurt on Trail 679 near Jackson Creek, according to CBS Colorado. That trail is officially designated the Dutch Fred ATV Trail, a 4.7-mile route that connects Rampart Range Road to Jackson Creek South Road, according to onX Offroad. Douglas County Search and Rescue was contacted Saturday after the rider went down, and the injured rider's partner called for help and built a fire to keep the rider warm while waiting on rescuers, per the CBS Colorado report.
Ground, Air and Drone Teams Converge on the Scene
The search combined ATV and ground crews with a UAV team, while the Douglas County Fire Helitack team searched from above. The rescue drone located the rider and partner and used its loudspeaker to tell them that help was coming, according to CBS Colorado.
After medics and ATV crews reached the rider, rescuers used an ATV litter system to carry the rider to a landing zone. The HCA HealthONE AIRLIFE medevac team then transported the rider to a hospital, according to CBS Colorado. AIRLIFE, formerly known as AirLife Denver, provides critical care air and ground transport across a 150-mile radius using a fleet of Bell 407 medical helicopters, according to AirLife Denver.
Colorado OHV Registration and Crash Reporting
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife guidance available for this article sets registration and reporting requirements rather than providing a statewide crash tally or identifying a list of primary safety risks. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, off-highway vehicles operated on public land or trails must be registered with the agency. OHV crashes involving at least $1,500 in property damage, or injuries resulting in hospitalization or death, must be reported to law enforcement and Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
A Partner's Actions and a Familiar Warning
Douglas County Search and Rescue credited the rider's partner with calling for help and building a fire to keep the injured rider warm while crews organized the response, according to the CBS Colorado account. The rider's family watched the rescue through the UAV's live feed from the rescue team's base.
Douglas County Search and Rescue also stressed the importance of not riding alone, particularly in remote areas. The Rampart Range Recreation Area, located in the Pike National Forest roughly 35 miles southwest of Denver, spans nearly 200 miles of designated off-highway vehicle trails across elevations ranging from 6,500 to more than 8,500 feet, according to the Rampart Range Motorized Management Committee.
A Trail Network Built and Maintained by Volunteers
The trails crisscrossing Rampart Range are kept open through a partnership between the U.S. Forest Service South Platte Ranger District and the volunteer Rampart Range Motorized Management Committee, whose members logged over 8,900 volunteer hours and cleared 405 fallen trees in 2024 alone. Douglas County Search and Rescue also took part in the injured rider's rescue.
The group has leaned increasingly on drone technology for exactly this kind of remote search. On a Thursday night, a Douglas County Search and Rescue drone team used a speaker system, laser rangefinder and payload-delivery system to help two lost hikers near Bear Mountain before ground crews reached them, according to 9News. During the September 19 rescue, the UAV team located the rider and partner first, while the Douglas County Fire Helitack team searched from above.
Rampart Range's thick pine forest and rocky single-track trails have produced serious crashes before. In October 2022, Douglas County Search and Rescue and local fire crews carried out an emergency air evacuation after a motorcyclist collided with a tree on a Rampart trail, according to the Denver Gazette. Colorado law mandates that riders and passengers under 18 wear DOT-approved helmets, per a report from Colorado State Patrol, a rule meant to reduce injuries in exactly the kind of remote backcountry where Saturday's rescue took place.
