WYMAN TOWNSHIP — A hiker from London, England, who broke her ankle, was rescued early Friday by emergency responders from West Peak of Bigelow Mountain.
It was a joint rescue effort from several agencies to reach injured hiker Jennifer Custer, 38, atop Bigelow Mountain, according to a release from Sgt. Scott Thrasher of the Maine Warden Service.
West Peak has an elevation of 4,145 feet.
The Warden Service was notified by the International Emergency Response Coordination Center in Houston, Texas, at about 5 p.m. Thursday that they had received and emergency message and exact location activated from a SPOT satellite messaging device.
Custer activated her device after seriously injuring her ankle.
The Maine Warden Service organized a four-person team consisting of a game warden, an emergency medical technician from NorthStar EMS ambulance, a Eustis Fire Rescue Department member, and a volunteer from the Franklin County Search and Rescue team.
The team hiked from the west side of Bigelow Mountain reaching Custer around 12 a.m. Friday. The team attempted to assist Custer on foot, however, her injury prevented a safe descent down the mountain, according to the release.
A Maine Forest Service helicopter was activated out of Old Town and responded, reaching Custer and her rescue team about 8:15 a.m. Friday on the West Peak of Bigelow. The helicopter landed safely on West Peak and took Custer to an awaiting ambulance at the Sugarloaf Regional Airport in Carrabassett Valley. Custer was then taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington to be treated.
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