WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Cliff Rescue in Jonesville

Cliff Rescue in Jonesville

Jonesville, Vermont - November 26, 2009

A group of hikers had planned to go for a quick, sunset hike before sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner. But their walk along the rocks above Jones Mill Road in Jonesville took an unexpected turn.

"It was slippery and it was at dusk so it got dark pretty fast," Nikhil Ramburn said.

Ramburn and a friend made it down easily. But a third who was higher up the cliff face fell. A fourth decided not to chance it. Rescue crews were called in to help.

"We were scared when we saw the fall," Ramburn said. "Thirty-five-foot drop is huge so we're glad he gained consciousness pretty quickly. He was really confused about what happened."

Ramburn said the man who fell was taken to the hospital with a broken arm. The other spent two hours on the cliff while rescue crews worked to bring him to safety.

"They climbed above him and sent a harness down to him and then held the rope as he rappelled down the 40 feet the first victim fell," Richmond Fire Chief Tom Levesque explained.

Emergency crews say the second hiker did exactly the right thing-- staying put and waiting for rescue crews to come to him.

"Once we got the right crews on scene it was simple, it wasn't overly complex, but it was just getting the right people here that knew how to do it," Levesque said.

About 40 rescuers from seven area departments responded. Neighbors say they were not surprised to hear someone was in trouble.

"Myself and my brother have all climbed up there when we were kids," said Jacob Kilpeck, a neighbor. "But it's very slippery up there, a lot of leaves and moss. It can be dangerous."

A danger that could have had a much more tragic result.

Kate Duffy - WCAX News