Crews Help Family In 6-Hour Boulder County Rescue

BOULDER COUNTY, CO — Rescue crews spent around six hours rescuing a woman who was swept away from her family in the runoff from North Saint Vrain Creek northwest of Lyons, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said. The five family members were from Arizona and Kansas.

The family was hiking along the Coulson Gulch Trail Monday afternoon, when the woman tried to cross the creek and fell in, the sheriff's office said. She was swept downstream over three sets of waterfalls, officials said.

The woman was able to grab onto a log and climb out of the river onto the south side of the creek bank, but was separated from the rest of her family, who was on the north side. One of the younger family members was able to cross over, and the rest of the family followed the trail to see if there was a point where they could cross and reunite, officials said.

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Once the family realized they couldn't safely cross the creek, they used a GPS device to activate an SOS, which sent coordinates to first responders.

Rocky Mountain Rescue Group conducted a highline rescue across the creek and used rescue harnesses to pull across the stranded hikers, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said. Boulder Emergency Squad and a Lyons fire crew set up six downstream rescuers, two sets of divers and a back-up set of divers in case someone fell into the water during the rescue operation.

"This is a good reminder that during spring runoff rivers and creeks can be swift moving and you should not attempt to cross them if they are running high," the Boulder County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

"It only takes six inches of moving water to knock an adult off their feet. The family, thankfully, had a handheld GPS device with an SOS feature, which allowed first responders to quickly pinpoint their location."