Search and rescue incident at French Creek highlights dangers of early season runoff

CHELAN COUNTY — Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison reported that around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 28, RiverCom received a satellite-to-911 text message from two injured hikers in the French Creek area of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness portion of the Okanogan–Wenatchee National Forest.

Through subsequent messages, RiverCom ascertained that the two hikers were 21-year-old males who potentially had lower body injuries, including what was described as a broken toe. The two hikers had tried to cross a creek in an unsafe area and gotten swept away by the water.

By the time their messages, which provided a precise location, reached the Sheriff’s Office, they were waiting on shore for assistance. Including CCSO search and rescue deputies and volunteer personnel from Chelan County Volunteer Search and Rescue, 14 people in all were dispatched to locate the hikers.

Deputies trekked around 1.5 miles to the hikers’ location, where they determined that the two men had sustained only minor injuries, but would definitely need assistance getting back across the creek they’d been swept away by. The deputies requested rope equipment, which was brought in to the scene by members of the CCVSAR. Deputies and volunteers worked together to set up a rope system and got the two men back across French Creek, after which the men were able to hike back out with the rescuers to the trailhead some 6.5 hours after the initial message to 911.

The CCSO advises that creeks can be running very high this time of year, and that even as little as six inches of fast-flowing water can take an adult off their feet. These waters should not be crossed, says the CCSO, or hikers could end up with significant injuries or worse.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media