Helicopter rescues Hood Mountain hiker

Santa Rosa man got an unexpected ride home Sunday evening after using his cell phone to make a mountainside distress call.
Stuart Dunn, 60, telephoned the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department around 5 p.m. to say he had hiked up Hood Mountain from Adobe Canyon Road in Kenwood but was too exhausted to complete the trip, a sheriff’s spokesperson said Monday.
Dunn, who was uninjured but had recently suffered an undisclosed medical condition, was wearing short pants and had no jacket, water or other supplies. He told the dispatcher that he’d left a marked trail and was surrounded by high vegetation – making his exact location unknown, save that he could see Los Guilicos Juvenile Hall.
Within 10 minutes of Dunn’s call, sheriff’s helicopter “Henry-1” arrived and contacted the victim via satellite telephone. Dunn was able to see the helicopter and guide it to his general location, with the helicopter crew sighting Dunn through night-vision goggles. As there was no direct access to Dunn’s site, the crew landed on a nearby ridge, rigged a 100-foot rescue line and – with the aid of a dangling deputy – ferried Dunn to safety.
Dunn was medically evaluated at the scene but did not need further care, the spokesman said, adding that Dunn was eventually driven home by a deputy sheriff.