Last Updated on August 16, 2026 6:56 am
Around 12:00 Saturday, Linville-Central was advised by Avery County 911 Communications of a hiker who had suffered a significant fall while hiking on Grandfather Mountain. With assistance from Linville Volunteer Fire Department, EMS Avery, Avery County Emergency Management, Crossnore Volunteer Fire Department, Banner Elk Volunteer Fire & Rescue, Grandfather Mountain State Park, NC Mountain Rescue Team 1 and Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation trails staff, access was made to the subject.
Based on mechanism of injury and initial medical assessment, it was decided a hoist operation would be needed to get the subject to definitive care as soon as possible. NC Emergency Management was contacted and agreed with this course of action. NC-TF 8 was tasked with the hoist operation. They transferred the subject to a nearby landing zone where the subject was transferred to a medical helicopter from Highlands Emergency Air Rescue & Transport.
“As you can tell from the number of agencies tagged in this post, it takes a lot of cooperation and teamwork to make an operation like this successful,” Linville-Central Rescue Squad said. “Linville Central would like to extend our sincere thanks to all who assisted.”
Photos: Linville-Central Rescue Squad
