Two children helped with the rescue of their father from the Bighorn Mountains this week after he was thrown from his horse.
According to South Big Horn County Search and Rescue, the Big Horn County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a girl in the Paint Rock Lakes area Tuesday afternoon who reported her father had been thrown from his horse and possibly had a broken jaw and other injuries.
Search and rescue ground teams were dispatched to the area. Once initial coordinates were established, an air medical resource was requested.
The helicopter flew directly to the scene with one search and rescue team member onboard, and they located the man and his son and daughter around 75 minutes after the initial call.
The man was moved to the aircraft by the crew and SAR member and transported to a clinic in Billings, Montana.
The search and rescue team member hiked with the children to a campground, where they met the ground teams, two sheriff’s deputies and the children’s mother.
“We must include the patient’s two children in our post today as part of the team effort,” the team said on social media. “The girl hiked to higher ground, made the 911 call, stayed on the phone and gave critical information that helped us locate her. The boy stayed with his dad until help arrived and both children made sure their horses were controlled during the helicopter approach and landing. They were amazing!”
Everyone was off the mountain by 8 p.m. Tuesday.
