Specially trained deputies with the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office completed a daring rescue of a California man who suffered what is believed to be a fractured leg while attempting to rope swing into the Molalla River this week.
Martin Stipp, 58, of Tracy, Calif., was attempting to swing into the river near Milepost 6 on Molalla Forest Road south of Molalla Monday, when he landed on a rock and hurt his leg.
The injured male’s son flagged down a passerby who contacted authorities for help. Clackamas County deputies and Molalla Fire Department responded to the scene and located Stipp, who was at the bottom of an embankment.
Emergency responders determined that a technical rope rescue to lift the man up to where EMTs could treat and transport him. Search & Rescue deputies and members of the CCSO Water Rescue Team were deployed, along with a ladder truck from Clackamas Fire District.
Using the extended ladder from the fire engine, rescuers worked together to hoist the victim up in a specially designed stretcher. He was then transported by ambulance to an area hospital for treatment.
