SAN JUAN COUNTY, Colo. — A hiker who had spent two nights in the wilderness with a broken leg was rescued after she flagged down a Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge train Monday morning, emergency responders said.
The San Juan County Office of Emergency Management said the hiker, a 20-something woman from New Mexico, had been missing for two days after going on a day hike on the Colorado Trail in the Deer Park area. She had left the trail and headed south along the Animas riverbank, where she fell, broke her leg and spent two nights in the wilderness injured.
After two days, the hiker was able to get herself to a spot along the riverbank where she was visible and flag down Monday morning's first Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train headed to Silverton. A train passenger saw the woman on the riverbank south of the Colorado Trail intersection and alerted the conductor, the office said. The railroad staff assessed the situation and initiated an emergency response.
Two railroad staff members who are also La Plata County medics crossed the river, reached the injured hiker and stayed with her until the Silverton Medical Rescue team arrived. The rescue team flew in on a helicopter and carried the hiker across the river using ropes, the office said. A helicopter then landed in Deer Park and flew the injured woman to the hospital.
The search and rescue crew returned to Silverton on a small diesel train that the railroad uses for emergencies, the office said.
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