A potentially tragic incident at the Cetti Bay area Thursday morning had a happy ending as an injured hiker was recovered.
The Cetti Bay area is one of the island’s popular hiking spots with two beautiful destinations, the Cetti Bay and the waterfall. But the trek there can be difficult even for experienced hikers.
PNC spoke with GFD’s Lt. Brandon Sana, who is part of the team that rescued the 74-year-old female hiker who slipped and fell roughly 15 feet.
“We arrived on scene and basically made our way into the trail to locate the individual and then we assisted using some of our rescue equipment such as our ropes, pulleys and mechanical vantage systems to help get this individual back onto the trail,” Sana said.
He added: “The height of the fall, 10 to 15 feet, was out of reach for her and the slope itself was too steep so the rescuers were able to locate her and lower down some equipment with ropes and safety harness. So we got her on the safety line mainline and we hoisted her back up to the main trail.”
Once back on the trail, the elderly woman was able to move on her own with minimal assistance. But what was a 74-year-old doing hiking such a trail? Lt. Sana explains that the elderly woman is an experienced hiker who was part of a boonie stomping group.
“Surprisingly there is a group of Guam hikers who are kind of in the senior level in regards to age but they are very experienced and very capable hikers in regards to her physical condition. She was actually well capable of doing the hike, just sustained an accident and we were able to assist,” Sana said.
GFD rescue units from Agat, Agana, and Dededo were activated to assist in retrieving the hiker. Sana says the hiker was in great spirits and thankful for GFD’s assistance. She was transported by ambulance to the Guam Memorial Hospital for minor injuries.
Today’s rescue mission was a success but hiking on Guam can be dangerous. Sana shares that all hikers must do their homework before heading out on a trail and plan for the unexpected.
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