Teen pinned by fallen tree rescued near Whitefish

An aerial search team used infrared technology to locate a teenage hiker pinned under a fallen tree early Thursday morning near Whitefish.

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office first received a report of the missing 16-year-old girl in the Lion Mountain area on Wednesday, March 11 at about 10 p.m.

The girl had been hiking with her grandfather along the Whitefish Trail and became separated from him at about 5 p.m., the sheriff’s office reports.

Sheriff deputies, North Valley and Flathead Search and Rescue units and a helicopter from Two Bear Air responded.

The girl was located at about 1 a.m. Thursday by the Two Bear Air helicopter using on-board infrared technology. She was off trail, and was found with a tree that had fallen on her across her body.

“It looks like she was in the dark, had lost a shoe [and] was off the trail quite a ways,” Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said. “She probably just grabbed [the tree] and pulled it over herself.”

A rescuer was lowered from the helicopter and provided care until ground units were on scene. The girl was taken to North Valley Hospital.