Watch Ky. State Police Help Rescue People Trapped at Gorge

By Christopher Leach

Source Lexington Herald-Leader

Two people who were canoeing were rescued with the help of a helicopter from a treacherous part of Red River Gorge Tuesday afternoon after they went missing earlier this week, according to Kentucky State Police.

State police and the Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team began the search for the missing pair in the upper Red River Gorge region Monday evening. The helicopter which state police used during the search had forward looking infra-red technology, according to Red STAR Wilderness EMS, a volunteer Wilderness emergency medical service unit covering Red River Gorge.

Red STAR officials said they were contacted by state police Tuesday afternoon after the missing people were spotted in "some of the most rugged terrain that the Red River Gorge region has to offer." Wolfe County Search and Rescue advised that a rescue with a hoist-equipped Huey helicopter was required to retrieve the canoeists given the circumstances.

Two Red STAR paramedics assisted state police with the rescue while the helicopter hovered approximately 200 feet above the Red River, according to Red STAR. It marked the first hoist rescue in the history of the Kentucky State Police aviation program.

State police said the canoeists are safe and receiving medical attention. One of the individuals had symptoms of hypothermia, according to Red STAR.

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