Deschutes County Search and Rescue helped bring an injured La Pine man to safety Sunday after he crashed his snowmobile near Paulina Lake.
Dep. Joshua Westfall, the assistant search and rescue coordinator, said dispatch received a call around 2:15 p.m. that the man, identified as 32-year-old Dylan McCloud crashed into a tree on Snowmobile Trail 4.
The caller said some people on the scene had started to help McCloud due to the significance of his injuries.
Three Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office deputies, a Forest Service officer initially responded to the scene as well as nine SAR volunteers and a doctor.
The Forest Service officer and SAR doctor traveled more than three miles via snowmobile from 10 Mile Sno-Park, reaching McCloud around 3:40 p.m. The rest of the SAR crew arrived via snowmobile with a snow ambulance.
McCloud was treated and then taken to the 10 Mile Sno-Park where La Pine Fire medics were waiting to take him to St. Charles in Bend.
Due to his injuries, SAR called LifeFlight to the scene, but the helicopter had to turn back mid-flight due to the poor weather conditions.
Westfall said McCloud missed a curve on his snowmobile, lost control, and hit a tree with the right side of his sled.
