Volunteers rescue hiker with suspected broken ankle on Anchorage's O'Malley Trail

Volunteers with the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group brought an injured hiker off the O'Malley Trail in Anchorage after a report early Wednesday, Alaska State Troopers said.

Troopers received the report at about 12:05 am. A 33-year-old man had a suspected broken ankle and could not get back to the trailhead, according to the troopers' daily dispatch. Rescue group volunteers responded and brought him to the trailhead. He was taken to a local hospital.

The Alaska Mountain Rescue Group is a volunteer search-and-rescue organization. Its website notes that finding a person is part of the job: "before those in need can be rescued they first must be located."

The group tells people in trouble to call troopers first. People who need its help in an emergency should dial 911 and tell the dispatcher they have a backcountry emergency, the group says on its website.

Troopers are responsible under state law for leading search and rescue operations across Alaska, according to the Department of Public Safety. Those missions are carried out in coordination with other agencies, including the Alaska National Guard. Troopers responded to 598 search and rescue incidents in fiscal year 2024, according to a department budget summary.

The same volunteer group has helped on other rescues this year. On June 15, a hiker near Eagle River Lake with a leg injury called for help using a satellite communication device. Rescue group members, the trooper helicopter Helo 3 and a state park ranger on an ATV took part in that rescue, according to a trooper dispatch.