MAINE – A 37-year-old Caribou woman was rescued by Maine Game Wardens and Presque Isle Rescue personnel after she slipped and fell forty feet down a vertical drop in Aroostook State Park yesterday afternoon.

Zara Gillis was hiking with her sister and two children on the trail to the south peak in Aroostook State Park when she slipped on a snowy area ½ a mile in on the trail and slid forty feet down. Gillis suffered a possible broken hip, some facial lacerations, and was unable to walk. Conditions on the trail were slippery due to the falling snow and leaf cover on the trail.

Game Warden Alan Dudley was the first on the scene at 3:00 p.m., and requested a helicopter to assist lifting her out, but due to snow and winds, neither the Maine Forest Service nor the National Guard could respond.

A team of seven game wardens and rescue personnel from the Presque Isle Police Department, Presque Isle Fire Department, Presque Isle Ambulance, and volunteers were able to carry her out the half mile by securing her in a litter and utilizing ropes to assist in the carry-out.

The carry out lasted approximately 1.5 hours, and once off the trail, Gillis was transported to AR Gould Hospital in Presque Isle.

No further information is available at this time.

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Contact: Mark Latti, MDIFW Communications Director, 207-592-1339 (cell) mark.latti@maine.gov