SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — An emergency response in the Black Hills Thursday has offered a reminder to anyone who might want to enjoy South Dakota’s scenery. Custer County Search & Rescue posted photos to Facebook with details about an injured hiker they helped.
“Both Custer Ambulance and Custer Search & Rescue went out together as a team and went up the trail together, and then between Search & Rescue and the ambulance, we were able to carry that patient down to the ambulance,” Custer County Search & Rescue Director Sam Smolnisky said Friday.
Smolnisky says the hiker fell near the Needles Highway in a section of the Black Hills where hikers have to navigate bigger rocks. Someone accompanying the injured hiker dialed 911, and that, Smolnisky says, was a smart call.
“Really good that people are calling 911 instead of, if you call your friend and say, ‘Hey I fell, I think I might need help,'” Smolnisky said. “Well, wherever your friend is calling from is where we’re going to think that accident happened.”
And he also points out that calling isn’t a hiker’s only way to send for help.
“Your phone has quite a few different options,” Smolnisky said. “Calling 911, texting 911, using the rapid SOS feature on your phone, all of those send that ‘help’ distress call but it gives us a location on the map so we know where to go.”
