Man fell from waterfall

May 13, 1979
Massacre Canyon, San Jacinto Foothills
1979-018

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By Brian Hixson

It was an awfully hot Sunday afternoon to be out on a rescue, but that didn't stop RMRU. We received a call from the Hemet office of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, at about 1:00 in the afternoon, and the information was a man had fallen from the second falls in Massacre Canyon and had possibly fractured his leg. We were also told that the California Division of Forestry volunteers had already been dispatched to the area, and were attempting to bring the man out. While enroute, we contacted the Hemet Search and Rescue Team via MRA radio, and were advised that they were about 15 minutes behind us. Walt Walker, Kevin Walker, and myself were the first from our team to arrive at the roadhead. It then was a brisk 10 minute walk around to the top of the first falls where we found that the CDF volunteers had run into a problem, how to get the man down the 30 foot waterfall that was partially dry. Time for a little help from RMRU with a technical lower. Besides our technical gear, WET CREEK CROSSING - With the combined efforts of RMRU and the Hemet Search and Rescue Team, the injured sunbather was wheeled out to the waiting ambulance. (photo by Jim Fairchild)we had brought in first aid gear, but found that the Hemet Valley Ambulance had also been dispatched before us and had already sprinted the man's lower leg. Not long after that, Steve Vaughn, Gary Fritzinger, and Mike Giovani, Hemet team members arrived, and soon after that our own John Dew.

We then went to work on setting up anchors for a lower. With Kevin handling the lowering system, John Dew on the belay, and Walt and Steve Vaughn tending the litter, we proceeded to lower the man down the water fall to just arriving Jim Fairchild and Larry Roland with the wheeled litter. We then nested the CDF Stokes into our wheeled system. After a brief wait for John, Kevin and I to clean up (unhook) the lowering system, we wheeled the man out to the waiting ambulance. Now would come the real task, trying to obtain gasoline to make it home.