Teen who fell 30 feet off trail is rescued by helicopter

Firefighters rescued a teenager who fell over the side of a trail in Fallbrook Wednesday afternoon, March 24.

Dispatchers were told around 3:50 p.m. that someone – possibly a hiker – needed to be pulled off a slope or cliff in the area of Sleeping Indian and Conejo roads on the southwestern edge of Fallbrook near Oceanside, according to information from Capt. John Choi of North County Fire Protection District.

Fire crews from North County Fire, the Oceanside Fire Department and Camp Pendleton Fire Department arrived to find a teenage girl, who had previously been hiking with friends and fell approximately 30 feet down some rocks.

According to Choi, a sheriff's department helicopter was able to hoist the victim and take her to Bonsall Elementary School, where she was transferred to an ambulance. The teen suffered major but non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, Choi said.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].