911 Call Sparks Crater Rescue

A call from a man at the top of Mount St. Helens (Wash.) set off an aerial rescue operation involving three counties, leading to today’s discovery of the victim, dead after a fall from the edge of the snowy crater. Joseph Bohlig, 52, was a veteran hiker of the volcano crater, which is considered active but safe to climb. His body was found this afternoon 1,500 feet down the inside of the crater by a Navy helicopter team. The first 911 came from Bohlig’s climbing partner, after a snow overhang gave way as Bohlig posed on the south edge of the crater for a photo. The 911 call was weak, but routed to the Skamania County sheriff’s comm center. Dispatchers from two adjacent counties were also involved in the rescue-recovery operations, which included a contract helicopter, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Navy. Read more here, and listen to the 911 call. here