Ursula Bannister, 79, hikes to the High Rock Lookout near Ashford, Washington once a year to honor her late mother. This year, though, Bannister stepped into a hole after reaching the lookout and broke her leg in several places. A man named Troy May offered to carry the injured hiker down the mountain. Bannister called May and his group “angels.”
U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Troy May was off duty that day, hiking to the lookout with his fiancée and a friend. The group heard Bannister’s cries for help. After discovering that rescue crews wouldn’t reach Bannister for over four hours, May told local King 5 News that he offered to carry her down the mountain to save her some suffering.
May and the other hikers lifted Bannister onto May’s back, and May carried her about 1.6 miles down the steep hiking trail. The Good Samaritans then transported Bannister to the hospital.
“It was like angels had descended from the sky,” Bannister said in an interview with King 5 News.
May received an Air Force Achievement Medal for his heroic efforts, but he says many others would have done in the same and he was simply in the right place at the right time.
See a man carry an injured hiker down a mountain here:
Kudos to May and his hiking party for helping a fellow hiker in need.
Have you ever come across an injured hiker?