1 Jun 2009 : Dovedale Callout

The team were called out to Dovedale on Sunday evening (May 31st) to assist in the rescue of a 14 year old girl, who had fallen whilst descending a steep scree slope on Thorpe Cloud, sustaining injuries to her head, back and arm. Over 20 members of the team were called out by pager at about 7:00pm to the beauty spot near Ashbourne. An ambulance crew and a Midlands Air Ambulance team were already on scene treating the casualty, but her location half way up the dangerous slope necessitated the use of mountain rescue personnel and equipment to evacuate her. Ropes and a specialized stretcher were used to lower the casualty to the ground and she was then carried along the banks of the river to the waiting helicopter where she was then taken to hospital for further treatment.

Whilst this incident was taking place, a member of the public alerted the team to a missing group of walkers. Two boys, aged 14 and 15 years old had separated from the rest of their group. The 40 year old father of one of the boys had also taken a different route and neither party had returned when expected. Once the mountain rescue members had evacuated the injured woman, they began to mobilise to search for the missing people. As the team were beginning to deploy, all 3 turned up safe and well.