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 early Wednesday, after troopers got a report about him just after midnight.

The 33-year-old man had a suspected broken ankle and couldn't get back to the trailhead, according to the troopers' daily dispatch, which logged the report at about 12:05 am. The rescue group got him to the trailhead, and he was taken to a hospital.

The group, founded in 1960, is a volunteer nonprofit that averages about 15 missions a year, all under the direct control of the Alaska State Troopers, according to its website. Members are expected to train regularly and "be in a position to respond to missions whenever the call comes in." As the group puts it, "before those in need can be rescued they first must be located."

The group tells people in trouble to call 911 and tell the dispatcher they have a backcountry emergency, which puts the call with troopers. State law makes troopers responsible for leading search and rescue across Alaska, working with other agencies including the Alaska National Guard, according to the Department of Public Safety. Troopers responded to 598 search and rescue incidents in fiscal 2024, according to a state budget summary.

In June, the group helped bring out a hiker with a leg injury near Eagle River Lake who had called for help on a satellite communication device. The trooper helicopter Helo 3 flew rescue group members in, a state park ranger came by ATV, and Helo 3 flew the hiker out to the trailhead parking area, where a family member was waiting, according to a trooper dispatch.