Helicopter rescue saves injured hiker in Kootenai County mountains
A hiker four and a half miles south of Bunco Trailhead was hoisted out of steep country after ground crews could not reach her. The rescue ended with surgery and a good recovery by the next day.
A fall in steep country south of the Bunco Trailhead parking lot turned a routine hike into a helicopter extraction when rescue crews could not reach the injured woman by vehicle. The hiker was reported about four and a half miles south of the trailhead near South Chilco Mountain, where rugged terrain blocked ordinary access and a suspected broken femur raised the stakes fast.
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office asked Spokane Regional Air Support Unit Rescue 3 for help around 11:30 a.m. on May 30. With vehicles and UTVs unable to reach the site, ground crews began hiking in on foot while the air team prepared for a technical rescue in the mountainside terrain.
Rescue 3 reached the woman at 12:58 p.m., lowered a helicopter rescue medic to assess her condition, and then hoisted her out of the backcountry. She was flown directly to Kootenai Medical Center for further treatment. By May 31, she had undergone surgery, was reported to be in good condition, and was preparing to go home.
The outcome showed how quickly North Idaho recreation can change when a simple fall collides with remote terrain. A possible femur fracture in a place that cannot be reached by road forces rescuers to split their response between foot travel and air support, and every minute matters when pain, shock and blood loss are possible. In steep forested country like the slopes around South Chilco Mountain, a stranded hiker may be too far from help for a conventional ambulance response to work at all.
It also highlighted how much Kootenai County depends on a multi-agency rescue network that can move from dispatch to hoist in difficult ground. For hikers using ridgelines and backcountry routes in the county, the rescue is a reminder to plan for delays, carry a reliable way to communicate, and be ready for the reality that a small mistake on loose, steep ground can become a technical extraction before anyone reaches a road.
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