On Saturday, November 30, 2013, at about 1:00 p.m., the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office was advised of an injured climber in Cochise Stronghold, approximately 30 miles southwest of Willcox.
Sheriff’s Office SAR Coordinators responded along with approximately ten volunteers and met with DPS Rangers for air support. A 25-year-old female, who was from Davis Monthan Air Force Base, was reportedly climbing in the area of Whale Dome with several friends when she was moving across the rock face in a pendulum motion.
The woman caught her left foot inside a crevice, which caused her ankle to break. The other climbers lowered her to a rock outcropping where she was rescued via a short haul by the helicopter and SAR crew to an open space in the Stronghold. The woman was then treated by Sunsites Fire Department medical personnel before being transported to the Wilcox Hospital.