Coast Guardsmen medevaced a Sitka teenager experiencing chest pain from Baranof Island on Sunday evening.
Coast Guard Sector Juneau personnel received notification Sunday afternoon from the Sitka Wilderness Therapy staff that a teenager had experienced chest pains during a hike that afternoon, according to a Coast Guard press release.
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk was used to rapidly locate and recover the ailing teenager, according to the press release.
“The aircrew was dispatched to a survival camp in Peril Strait,” said Lt. Kyle Johnson, Coast Guard Air Station Sitka public affairs officer and co-pilot of the rescue. “We were able to land on a rocky area between the shoreline and treeline. Members of the camp were able to pass their exact coordinates to Sector Juneau, light a signal flare and communicate with the helicopter directly with a portable VHF radio. As a result, this eliminated any searching and made entry into the unprepared landing zone very quick and uneventful.”
The teenager was released to Sitka EMS personnel for ongoing care, according to the release.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
