A hiking trip along the Walla Walla River near Harris Park turned into an overnight rescue operation Sunday night after one hiker tumbled roughly 40 feet down a steep embankment, suffering a head injury, possible broken ribs and signs of hypothermia before crews could reach him. His companion scrambled out of the river corridor and called for help at about 9 p.m., setting off a two-mile hike into the dark by deputies and firefighters to bring him out.
The Umatilla County Sheriff's Office identified the hikers as Kathleen Mahony and Stephon Schulze, both of College Place, Washington, according to the East Oregonian. The outlet reports that Mahony hiked out of the river corridor and called for emergency assistance at approximately 9 p.m. on Sunday, leaving Schulze stranded below the trail. Sgt. Adam Gregory, Deputy Cody Gray and Milton-Freewater Rural Fire Department personnel then hiked two miles up the trail before locating Schulze at the bottom of the approximately 40-foot embankment.
Once rescuers reached him, the situation was serious. The same report notes he had suffered a head injury, possible broken ribs and was showing symptoms of hypothermia by the time crews arrived. AppleValleyNewsNow.com adds that deputies carried him back toward the trailhead once he was stabilized and handed him off to waiting medical personnel.
A Rope-and-Litter Haul Up the Embankment
Getting Schulze off the embankment required more than muscle. Responders used a rescue litter and rope system to raise him 40 feet up the slope to the trail, the same account states. From there, an emergency helicopter flew him to an area hospital for treatment, while an ambulance took Mahony to an area hospital separately for medical evaluation.
The terrain they were working in is no casual stroll. Harris Park sits on the South Fork of the Walla Walla River, about 14 miles southeast of Milton-Freewater, and Umatilla County describes its hiking trail as rugged and recommended only for experienced hikers, with sections that are narrow and primitive.
Not the First Rescue in the Area
This stretch of river and cliff has drawn search-and-rescue crews before. In a separate incident, a 29-year-old Walla Walla woman named Alana Riggle was rescued after becoming stranded on a cliff in the Harris Park area, according to northeastoregonnow.com. Crews located her at the top of an approximately 40-foot vertical cliff below a rock escarpment, and Deputy John Reitz secured a rope around her before she was brought up the steep slope. Riggle was cold but otherwise uninjured, declined medical aid and returned to her family's campsite around 1 a.m., the outlet reported.
Harris Park's river has also tested rescuers in the water itself. In another incident near the park, a deputy, fire department personnel and a private resident worked together to pull a woman safely from the river, the Union-Bulletin reported, while medics at the scene also treated a second woman who had gone into the water attempting to rescue the first.
Why These Calls Keep Coming
Missions like Sunday night's are routine work for local responders, even if each one is physically demanding. Umatilla County Search and Rescue responds to 15 to 20 calls per year, and operations can run anywhere from four or five hours to two or three days, per the county sheriff's office. Under Oregon law, each county sheriff is responsible for search-and-rescue activities within that county's borders.
No further details on Schulze's condition following his transport to the hospital have been released.
