WIMAUMA, Fla. — A hiker who got lost at the Little Manatee River State Park in Hillsborough County Wednesday afternoon had to be rescued by helicopter, according to officials.
The Hillsborough County Fire Rescue's (HCFR) Emergency Dispatch Center said a man called 911 shortly before 3 p.m., stating he was lost in the woods.
Crews began looking for the "disoriented hiker" who had been without water for around four hours.
After an hour of walking through a heavily wooded area, and with the help of the hiker's GPS from his cell phone, crews found the lost hiker and performed Advanced Life Support procedures.
"HCFR, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue showed up. Some of our deputies showed up as well. We started trying to locate him. At first, it was tough to do. We called in our aviation unit. Thankfully, we were able to fly overhead with the helicopter and finally able to locate him, deep in some brush, away from any of the known trails," said Marco Villarreal with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office then lifted the hiker, along with two HCFR crew members, out.
The hiker, per officials, was taken to a local hospital, where he's in "stable condition." There were no injuries to the crew members who helped him.
Jane Pollack, an avid hiker and Communications and Outreach Manager with the Florida Trail Association, said The National Park Service urges people to file a "Trip Plan" and leave it with an emergency contact. She said the information is useful no matter the length of your hike.
"You should have a map of your itinerary and your planned route, your expected return date and the time, the color and license plate of your vehicle and then anyone that's going with you and any medical needs they might have," said Pollack.
Pollack hiked The Florida National Scenic Trail in early 2020. It started in the Everglades and she hiked more than one thousand miles. She said people should always carry extra food and water. People should also bring a first aid kit, headlight or flashlight and extra clothes.
"If you're going out into the wilderness or you're going out for multiple days. It's nice to have a personal locator beacon that basically has an SOS feature for emergency use only that sends out your GPS location for search and rescue to be able to locate you," said Pollack.
"I think knowing your rote and preparation kind of go hand in hand."
