A Classic Air Medical helicopter rescued a horseback rider from a snowy trail northeast of Mancos early Wednesday evening after the horse reportedly fell on the rider.
According to Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin, the rider, identified only as a male, was bleeding profusely after a stick impaled his leg during the fall.
He was riding in an area north of Mancos near the Gold Run Trail, north of the Jersey Jim Lookout Tower, said Deputy Mike Morris of the Mancos Marshal’s Office. The trail begins at Forest Service Road 561 – West Mancos Road – at about 10,600 feet in elevation. It ends at Forest Trail 607, or Bear Creek Trail, on Burro Mountain.
Officers from the Mancos Marshal’s Office and Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene after being alerted to the accident shortly after 4 p.m. By 5 p.m., Morris said, the helicopter had picked up the rider, and the officers turned back.
It was unclear how the injury occurred. About 5 inches of snow was on the ground, according to a dispatcher.
