@cbsatlanta: A hiker who became lost in Georgia’s Cohutta Wilderness Area was airlifted to safety after a weekend rescue operation. The Fannin County Emergency Management Agency received a call about the hiker Saturday morning, prompting a search involving its Search and Rescue team and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The hiker was found several miles off the trail, thousands of feet below the surrounding terrain in a ravine, and DNR officers made contact with him shortly after 7 p.m. Because of the difficult terrain and his condition, crews determined it was unsafe to carry him out on foot and called for a helicopter extraction. With darkness setting in and weather conditions changing, traditional aviation resources were no longer available. A U.S. Army Camp Merrill helicopter rescue team responded and conducted a nighttime hoist operation, successfully pulling the hiker from the ravine and taking him to a nearby hospital. Ground crews continued the long hike out of the wilderness and had all personnel out by 3 a.m. Sunday.
