6.22.22 M Trail Rescue

On June 22, 2022 at 8:45pm, Gallatin County dispatch received a call for a hiker located above the M on the College M Trail, who thought they might be having a heart attack.

Gallatin County Sheriff Search and Rescue volunteers from the Valley, Bridger Canyon Fire Department, and American Medical Response responded to the trailhead.  Search and Rescue sent a hasty team with an AED up the trail first and made contact with the patient.  After an initial patient evaluation, the patient felt stable enough to walk slowly down the hill with assistance from SAR and medical personnel.

Additional SAR teams met the group at the M, where the patient was again feeling nauseas and pain in their right arm.  Crews decided to package the patient and wheel them down in the one wheeled litter.  All crews and SAR members made it back to the trailhead where the patient was transferred to the care of AMR and transported to Bozeman Health for further evaluation.

Sheriff Dan Springer would like to remind hikers that accidents and medical emergencies can happen at any time and on any trail.  With warmer temperatures and longer days, remember to take more water than you think is necessary, make sure you have a reliable communication device, try to hike with at least one other person, and always tell someone where you are going and when you should be back.

Photo courtesy of Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office.