Woman pays for private helicopter for help off Mount St. Helens

MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. — The Skamania County sheriff's office says an injured Texas woman paid for a private helicopter to speed her rescue off Mount St. Helens.

The sheriff's office says 48-year-old Nancy Allen of Katy, Texas, and her 18-year-old daughter had climbed to the summit of the southwest Washington volcano on Tuesday but lost the trail on the way down. She reported she fell and was unable to walk.

A sheriff's search and rescue coordinator and the Volcano Rescue Team from Fire District 13 out of Yacolt responded and started carrying her out on a stretcher called a Stokes litter.

The sheriff's office says at 5:20 a.m. Wednesday Allen decided to hire the helicopter. The helicopter arrived at 6:30 a.m. transported her and her daughter off the mountain.

The 18-year-old wasn’t injured, and her mother didn’t suffer serious injuries – she was just unable to make it down the mountain under her own power.

Story and Comments/Reaction:  http://www.katu.com