A salute to the Menifee County Rescue Team
by Jim Stickley, post date Jan. 10, 2009

When I first heard the news of climber Steven Couch surviving a 180' fall from Frog Head above Indian Staircase in the Red River Gorge, I was both baffled and amazed. I have walked up the Indian Staircase before and only once reluctantly slid down on my butt to the rock outcrop known as Frog Head, hoping like hell that I didn't miss. I could not even begin to imagine anyone falling from there and living. And this guy made that fall, and only needed leg and knee surgery? Then it hit me: he landed on his feet. This was not a slip-over-the-edge tumbling free-fall. He was rappelling, wearing a harness attached to rope that typically runs through a carabiner. One initial news article reported that he lost his grip, which made sense to me. If he lost his grip on the lower belay end of the rope, his "breaks" would have failed, sending him into a free-slide down the rope. Then another article said "Rescuers say something went wrong with his rigging." That made even more sense. Rappellers have knot tying skills that would make an Eagle Scout dizzy, and making sure that those knots are tied absolutely correct is as important to a rappeller as a four line check is to someone who is packing their own parachute. But whatever malfunction caused this accident, it is good to know that he is alive and full recovery is expected in a short term. Now as I was just about to walk away from this story, thinking that I had put the mystery to rest in my own mind, I took one last look back at the published articles, and found a freshly posted comment that stopped me in my tracks. This is not a typical opinionated comment to a media article, in fact, it is in itself a news article that goes far beyond what the media has reported. This is a story of amazing dedication, endurance, and bravery, written by a volunteer of the Menifee County Rescue Team who was there that night... "I want to take a moment to recognize the efforts of this volunteer rescue group. Menifee Co. Rescue Team members displayed great skill and courage while raising the victim and his rescuer in a basket some 200' from the base of the cliff to the top. "This already dangerous, high-skill task was made more difficult by darkness and a steady cold rain. The distance of the lift and miserable weather conditions made the rescue unusually slow. A rescuer can only hang in his harness for 20-30 minutes before suffering from blood circulation loss. "In this case, the primary rescuer was Willie Brown who struggled under these difficult conditions for an hour or more. While in great distress and pain himself, he continued his mission and encouraged the victim. With Willie in trouble and only half way up the cliff, Rescue Team Leader Donnie Brown, sent Darrell Rodgers over the side to assist. "Eventually the victim and both rescuers made it to the overhanging lip of the cliff. At this point Darrell was no longer in a position to assist and had lost the use of his legs due to circulation loss. He was physically dragged back over the lip and to safety. "The victim in the basket with Willie attached to it were firmly stuck just under the lip. With our pull lines at the wrong angel to free the basket and the clock ticking, Donnie Brown began to improvise. "Donnie worked through several options without success. He then attached new lines to the basket changing the angle of pull. With Donnie hanging over the edge and pulling up on the basket and volunteers pulling on the new lines, the basket and Willie popped over the lip and were hauled to safety. "The Wolfe Co. Rescue Team, lead by John May arrived and volunteered to carry the victim out. All the volunteers did a great job that night. But Willie, Darrell, and Donnie truly did some heroic work. Donnie's steady leadership was inspiring. We are lucky to have such dedicated volunteers."