Search and rescue, National Guard evacuate horseman from North Fork

Posted 10/30/18

Park County Search and Rescue members spent their Saturday night with an injured Cody man on the North Fork of the Shoshone River and a helicopter from the Wyoming Army National Guard brought him to …

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Search and rescue, National Guard evacuate horseman from North Fork

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Park County Search and Rescue members spent their Saturday night with an injured Cody man on the North Fork of the Shoshone River and a helicopter from the Wyoming Army National Guard brought him to safety the following morning.

Scott A. Vaughn, 46, was thrown from his horse in the Horse Creek drainage around 6 p.m. Saturday, reporting back pain, shortness of breath and nausea.

Vaughn — who was riding with a companion — was injured about 5 miles up the Horse Creek Trail, according to the Park County Sheriff’s Office. The trailhead is located along the North Fork Highway (U.S. Highway 14/16/20), just a few miles west of the Shoshone National Forest’s eastern boundary.

Because of the difficulty of the terrain and the poor weather at the time, there was no opportunity to call in a medical helicopter, said Lance Mathess, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

Two ground teams from search and rescue, plus a wilderness medical team from Cody Regional Health hiked into the area. They reached Vaughn around 11:30 p.m. and prepared to bring him out of the backcountry.

“However, due to night conditions, the inclement weather and the extreme ruggedness of the terrain, it was determined that a safe evacuation was impossible at that time,” Mathess said. “The decision was made to spend the night with Vaughn and make him comfortable until morning.”

Arrangments were made to bring in a Blackhawk helicopter from the Wyoming Army National Guard in Cheyenne at first light.

Around 8 a.m. Sunday, the Blackhawk arrived. An Army medic was lowered to Vaughn, who was loaded in a transport litter, then lifted out of the area and brought to West Park Hospital.

A family member said in a Facebook post on the sheriff’s office’s page that Vaughn will be OK.

“Time to heal is all that is needed at this point,” Steven Vaughn wrote.

Scott Vaughn himself commented on the post Monday morning to express his heartfelt appreciation to everyone who helped with his rescue.

“I hope at some point I get to thank each of you for your selfless acts to help me out,” Vaughn wrote. “My family and I are forever grateful to each and every one of you.”

In a statement, Sheriff Scott Steward praised the “selflessness” of the county’s search and rescue volunteers, calling them “true heroes.”

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