Tennessee Army National Guard Rescues Man from Smokies Backcountry

Park rangers say a man suffered a medical emergency Wednesday in the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and was evacuated by helicopter.

According to Dana Soehn, spokesperson for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the park’s Emergency Communication Center received a call at 2:14 p.m. on March 30, 2016 from a hiker who said his hiking partner, 66-year-old Kenneth McGinnis, of Powell Tenn., was suffering from a medical condition and unable to continue hiking on his own. They were hiking on the Mt. Cammerer trail and located half way between the Mt. Cammerer Observation Tower and the Appalachian Trail. At the request of park rangers, the Tennessee Army National Guard responded to assist in the rescue and successfully hoisted the patient onto a black hawk helicopter at 5:08 p.m. He was transported to Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center in Knoxville. No further information was available.

Tennessee Army National Guard airlifts a hiker in distress from the Mt. Cammerer Trail.