BOLINAS (CBS SF) – A California Highway Patrol helicopter rescued three hikers in the Marin National Seashore when they became trapped by rising tides on a beach north of Bolinas Sunday afternoon.
The hikers used their cellphones to call for help around 4:30 p.m. when they realized they were in danger.
Helicopter H-32 was nearby on patrol when the National Park Service rangers requested assistance. When the aircraft arrived on scene they found the stranded hikers in a cove where the only way out was to climb up a cliff.
CHP HELICOPTER RESCUES THREE TRAPPED BY THE TIDE
Marin National Seashore, Bolinas, CA – on July 24, 2016 at approximately 1630 hours, CHP Helicopter 32 (H-32) was requested by United States National park rangers to assist with the rescue of three young adults that were hiking along the beach when they became trapped by rising tides north of Bolinas. Realizing their predicament, the parties used their cell phones to call for help. H-32 was on patrol and quickly responded and located the parties in a cove with no way out except a sheer cliff to climb. Due to the steep beach and not having sufficient room in the cove to land, H-32's pilot, CHP Officer S. Ellison, instead hovered approximately a foot over the sand and incoming tide. Two of the parties were loaded into the hovering helicopter and transported to the Bolinas Fire Station and transferred to U.S. Park Rangers. After dropping off the first two, H-32 returned to the cove and repeated the hover operation to rescue the third person, who was also taken to the Bolinas Fire Station. The parties were uninjured.
The California Highway Patrol Golden Gate Division Air Operations unit, based at the Napa County Airport, operates four aircraft (two airplanes and two helicopters) which patrol the 9 Bay Area Counties, approximately 6,923 square miles that is home to a residential population of more than 7 million people. The helicopter is routinely staffed with a CHP Officer/Pilot and a CHP Officer/Paramedic. The helicopter is equipped with a rescue hoist that has 165 feet of cable that can lift patients and/or rescuers, with a cumulative weight up to 450 pounds.
The pilot hovered roughly one foot over the water and sand while the crew loaded two of the hikers into the helicopter rescued them from the beach. After dropping them off at the Bolinas Fire Station the helicopter returned to rescue the last stranded hiker.
