UPDATE: A Coast Guard helicopter successfully hoisted Tim Bailey out of a canyon in the drainage of Sol Duc River’s North Fork at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Olympic National Park officials said.
He was taken to Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles for treatment of a broken ankle.
Park officials say Bailey was smart about increasing his chances for rescue, which involved about 20 searchers starting Tuesday morning.
“He did all the right things,” said Olympic National Park Incident Commander Kristin Kirschner in a statement.
“Once he realized he would not be able to get out of the canyon under his own power, he stayed where he was, made himself as visible as possible, built a large signal fire, and waited for help.”
After two on-ground rescue crews heard what sounded like gun shots Wednesday afternoon, a helicopter sent to search the area spotted him.
Bailey, who authorities said had a pistol, was then found by the on-ground search teams.
He had been immobilized since Saturday when he tumbled about 150 feet down a slope and broke his left ankle, authorities said.
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OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — Searchers found a solo hiker Wednesday who had been overdue since Sunday in a remote area south of Lake Crescent.
Tim Bailey, 32, of Mountlake Terrace in Snohomish County was found with a broken ankle in one of the side channels of the drainage of the North Fork Sol Duc River at about 3:37 p.m., Olympic National Park spokeswoman Rainey McKenna said.
“Searchers on the ground were able to talk with him and confirm it is indeed him,” she said.
Bailey had planned a three-day loop from the Aurora Ridge trailhead to Boulder Lake and back along the North Fork Sol Duc River in Olympic National Park.
He began the hike Friday morning and was reported overdue by his wife, Whitney, on Sunday evening.
Bailey had broken his left ankle in a fall, McKenna said, adding that she had no other information at the time.
“He is alert and oriented and in great spirits,” McKenna said. The family had been notified, she said.
Park officials were coordinating a hoist operation Wednesday afternoon. Two search-and-rescue teams were on the ground with Bailey, McKenna said.
A dozen searchers in teams of two had combed the area along with a helicopter earlier Wednesday.
Bailey’s vehicle had been spotted at the Aurora Ridge trailhead Monday.
A “hasty” search along the intended route took place Tuesday, McKenna said.
Bailey’s planned route would have taken him along Aurora Ridge past 4,600-foot Sourdough Mountain and 5,350-foot Lizard Head Peak to Happy Lake Ridge.
He planned to follow the Happy Lake Ridge trail to Boulder Lake, then bushwhack into the North Fork Sol Duc River drainage and locate a primitive trail that leads back to Sol Duc Road.
“It’s not a well-traveled area,” McKenna said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
Managing editor Leah Leach contributed to this report.
