Hiker Rescued By Helicopter From Scott's Run Nature Preserve

FAIRFAX, VA — Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, and the U.S. Park Police rescued a hiker with a possible broken leg from the Potomac Trail in Scott’s Run Nature Preserve on Sunday.

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue responded at 10:10 a.m. to a report of a person who had fallen and possibly broken their leg. Crews found the patient in a steep, wooded ravine inaccessible to vehicles.

Emergency medical and rescue crews hiked to the patient and began providing medical care. With water levels too low for a boat rescue, crews requested a helicopter hoist. Rescuers built a rope system and moved the hiker to a safe spot near the river’s edge.

The U.S. Park Police flew the hiker to a local hospital. According to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue, they arrived at the hospital just an hour and a half after the initial call.

The Fairfax County government website notes that while some trails in Scott’s Run are “gentle,” others include “precipitously steep hills and cliffs” and “can be challenging, requiring a hardier constitution than possibly any other park in Fairfax County.”