A solo hiker bounced from rocks as he fell 100 feet from a cliff into an icy lake in Washington, deputies said.
The injured man sent an SOS signal Sunday, Dec. 8, from Lake Serene, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said in an email.
He had been bow hunting when he fell at the north end of the lake, deputies said.
The water was partially frozen, but he got himself out of the lake before activating his Personal Locator Beacon — a satellite device that sends a signal to rescuers when someone is in distress.
The hiker couldn’t move far because he had hypothermia and “a suspected head injury, broken ribs, and a possible hip fracture,” deputies said.
Rescue teams, including a Naval Base Whidbey rescue helicopter, were sent out to help him, deputies said.
After a delay from weather, the helicopter airlifted him from the area and took him to a hospital in Seattle, deputies said.
Lake Serene is north of Mount Index and is 45 acres in size, according to officials.
The lake is shallow with a maximum depth of 23 feet.
It’s also about a 55-mile drive northeast from Seattle.
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