A South Carolina woman was rescued Friday after injuring her leg during a Girl Scout hiking trip in Pemigewasset Wilderness in Lincoln, requiring an eight-mile carry-out by rescue teams.
Stephanie Latchford, 48, of Gilbert, South Carolina, slipped on wet rocks while crossing a brook on the Lincoln Brook Trail around 10 a.m. Friday, according to the New Hampshire Fish and Game. She suffered a lower extremity injury that prevented her from walking, they said.
Latchford was hiking with a Girl Scout group near Thirteen Falls Tentsite, about eight miles from the Lincoln Woods Visitor Center. The group had camped overnight at the site and was returning to the parking area when the accident occurred during a second brook crossing.
Good Samaritans who came upon the injured hiker used an emergency 911 to request help and fashioned a makeshift litter from a hammock to carry Latchford back to the campsite while waiting for rescuers.
Conservation officers, volunteers from the Pemigewasset Valley Search and Rescue Team and a member of the Campton/Thornton Fire Department responded to the call. They traveled the first three miles by ATV and utility vehicle before hiking the remaining five miles to reach Latchford at 2:15 p.m.
After stabilizing her injury, rescue crews carried Latchford back to the trailhead, reaching the vehicles at 5:17 p.m. She was then taken by utility vehicle and transferred to a Linwood Ambulance for transport to Littleton Health for evaluation and treatment.
Fish and Game officials said this marks another remote area rescue this season and reminded hikers venturing into wilderness areas like the Pemigewasset to prepare for extended stays in case of emergencies, as it takes several hours for rescue personnel to assemble and reach remote locations.