18-year-old hiker rescued from steep slope after breaking both ankles, dislocating knee in fall



WENATCHEE, Wash. -- An 18-year-old woman from Wenatchee was rescued off a steep slope below Castle Rock after she fell and slid nearly 80 feet Wednesday and broke both her ankles, dislocated a knee and suffered lacerations and back and neck pain, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office said.

A fellow hiker called 911 at about 3:43 p.m. to report that her friend, Erika Juarez, had fallen at least 20 feet from near the top of the Castle Rock formation and then slid another 50 feet down the slope before coming to rest on the side of a steep hill, the sheriff's office said.

"It was determined Juarez had suffered a compound fracture to one ankle and an internal fracture to her other ankle. She also had a dislocated knee, lacerations and was advising of back and neck pain," the sheriff's press release said.

She was lowered, via a rope system, about 350 feet down the slope and transported to Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee in serious but stable condition.

(Photo: Chelan County Sheriff's Office)