Challenging mountain rescue: Man pinned by refrigerator-sized boulder for hours in Pacific Northwest

LEAVENWORTH, Wash. — The rescue of a 28-year-old Montana man pinned under a giant boulder was an hours long operation requiring special equipment and several emergency agencies.

Last week, Ben Delahunty was hiking in the Cascade Mountains south of Leavenworth when a boulder he was relaxing on started to slide down a cliff, Chelan County Sheriff Brian Burnett said in a news release.

A Chelan County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue coordinator spoke with Delahunty’s hiking partner, who said his friend’s wrist and legs were pinned under the rock. They could not move it because it was roughly the size of a refrigerator, according to KIRO-TV.

Getting rescuers and equipment capable of moving the boulder to the scene was challenging as the location where the Delahunty was trapped several hours from the trailhead.

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Helicopter Rescue Team responded via helicopter, and the first paramedics were dropped at the location at about 12:20 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Wenatchee Valley Fire Department helicopter, 1MR, was used to shuttle rescuers and equipment to the scene.

According to KIRO, rescuers from Cascade Ambulance, Chelan County Mountain Rescue, Wenatchee Valley Fire Department, and Snohomish County Helicopter Rescue Team arrived at the rescue scene. Additional equipment was provided by Chelan County Fire District 3.

As rescuers arrived, they found the operation had additional challenges, according to the sheriff’s office. The area where the man was trapped required ropes to access it, and there was a risk of rescuers falling while they worked on the boulder.

Using air bladders from WVFD, crews were able to free Delahunty from the boulder at about 2:50 p.m.

By the time Delahunty was freed from the boulder, winds had picked up. The first attempt to hoist him to a helicopter was unsuccessful.

At 4:45 p.m., there was enough of a break in the weather to hoist the him to the helicopter. He was taken to Central Washington Hospital with significant leg injuries but is expected to recover.

Over the next several hours, rescuers hiked out of the location and made it to the trailhead at about 11 p.m.

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