Mount Taylor: lost hiker rescued overnight

KOAT, citing Cibola Search and Rescue, reports that around 3 a.m. Saturday a missing 69-year-old hiker was found on Mount Taylor in western New Mexico.

According to the team, Tayo Basquiat (Cibola SAR / Albuquerque Mountain Rescue Council) and Tyler Mobraten (Socorro SAR) took the call. Using tracking skills they located him on a remote ridge; EMTs checked vitals and began warming and rehydrating him.

After more than three hours over rugged ground they guided him several miles to a waiting UTV, then an ambulance and a Classic Air helicopter to hospital. The hiker said he feared he might not survive the night and had started writing messages to his family when the rescuers emerged from the dark. Cibola SAR thanked the county sheriff, fire and emergency services, and Classic Air.