A hiker called park dispatch via cell phone at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, August 20th, to report the discovery of a seriously-injured woman near The Ledges at the 13,000-foot elevation along the Longs Peak trail. Sheila Townsend, 48, of Chaska, Minnesota, had evidently taken a 200-foot tumbling fall from the False Keyhole area around 4 p.m. on the previous afternoon. It’s unclear whether she tried to call for help that afternoon or whether there was anyone in the vicinity when she fell. The hikers heard her calling while heading up the trail Monday morning. Rangers left the trailhead at 9 a.m. and reached her two hours later. She was found to be conscious, with head and other injuries. A complicated high angle rescue began just before noon. Townsend was packaged in a litter and brought 200 vertical feet up to the False Keyhole. Park staff then lowered her 400 to 500 vertical feet on the north side of the False Keyhole down to the Boulderfield. Townsend was carried from there to a landing zone, then flown by a Flight for Life helicopter to a hospital. Temperatures were near freezing and it was windy at that elevation on Monday night. There were 25 park staff involved in this rescue. They were assisted by a paramedic from Estes Park Medical Center and ten members of Larimer County Search and Rescue.
