A Sitka hunter was medevacked from Mt. Verstovia Friday (11-7-14) after sustaining an accidental gunshot wound to his leg.
Scott Kennedy, 21, was out hunting alone on Mt. Verstovia when he fell and his pistol discharged, said his father, Robert Somerville. The bullet lodged just above the knee.
Kennedy called 911 from his cell phone around 11 a.m. Friday, setting in motion a rescue that included the Sitka Fire Department, Police Department, and Coast Guard.
The Fire Department reported the call to the Coast Guard District Command Center in Juneau, and a helicopter was dispatched from Air Station Sitka, said Petty Officer Diana Honings. The crew found Kennedy on the eastern slope of Mt. Verstovia, lowered a rescue swimmer and hoisted Kennedy aboard. He was flown back to the air station and taken by ambulance to SEARHC.
Assistant Fire Chief Al Stevens said the entire rescue — from phone call to hoist — took 51 minutes. Sitka Police dispatcher Lyn Blankenship stayed on the phone with Kennedy the entire time.
Somerville said his son was in a lot of pain, but in good spirits. “He was actually cracking jokes with the coast guard when they were flying him out,” he said.
Somerville said he had taught Kennedy how to perform first aid on himself, and Kennedy had used that knowledge to fashion a tourniquet.
The family doesn’t yet know how severe the injury might be, Somerville said. Kennedy was flown this afternoon to Anchorage for surgery, accompanied by his mother.
A four-person search and rescue team was also dispatched by foot, but they only made it about halfway up the Verstovia trail before the helicopter arrived, and turned back.
Sitka Police Chief Sheldon Schmitt said Kennedy was lucky the helicopter was able to reach him so fast — he said there was significant blood loss, and the team trying to reach Kennedy on foot might have been too slow.
“I’m sure it saved his life,” Schmitt said.
