A Bend man was airlifted to the hospital after striking a tree on his snow bike two miles south of Mt. Bachelor Saturday afternoon. . Deschutes County Search and Rescue volunteers were dispatched to Kwohl Butte after Deschutes County 911 received a call from a monitoring service who informed 911 that a “SPOT” device had been activated. The monitoring service made phone contact with their customer, who informed them that a male was injured and needed assistance. The call taker at 911 was given coordinates for the injured subject.
A deputy made contact with a member of the injured person’s party and learned that the male had struck a tree while riding a snow bike and needed assistance from Search and Rescue.
At 2:38 PM, a deputy requested that Search and Rescue volunteers respond to assist with the rescue. Six SAR members with the snowmobile team and medical team responded to the scene. Because of the extent of injuries, Airlink was also placed on standby.
SAR volunteers reached the patient by 4:49 PM. The patient was evaluated and prepared for transport. Airlink was requested and responded to a landing zone, which was near the Kwohl Butte Shelter. At about 7:00 PM, the patient was transferred into the Airlink helicopter, who transported the patient to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend.
