Person rescued from Santa Margarita River with life-threatening injuries

On August 7th at 8:47 pm, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department requested assistance from the NCFPD in the recovery of a missing person found in the Santa Margarita River in the 2500 block of North Stage Coach Lane.

A body had been found in the river and SDSO requested help retrieving him out of the water. The call was upgraded to a full water rescue response when it was discovered that the person was still alive.

NCFPD PIO John Choi said crews arrived on scene and hiked down to the river to rescue the patient. Crews performed a water rescue and brought the patient safely out of the water. The patient required being hiked out on a Stokes Basket. After the rescue and 5-minute hike, the patient was transferred in an ambulance at 9:35 pm to a landing zone where Mercy Air 5 was waiting to transport the patient to Palomar Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

NCFPD crews were dispatched at 8:47 pm and were in route by 8:48 pm. They were reported on scene by 9:03 pm and had the patient to the ambulance by 9:35 pm.

A person was rescued last night from the Santa Margarita River with life-threatening injuries and transported to Palomar Hospital by Mercy Air.

NCFPD responded to a water rescue call at 8:28 pm in the 2500 block of North Stage Coach Lane. Crews arrived on scene to find one person in the water. They were rescued and transported. No more information is available now. Will update story as more information is available.

The call was closed out at 10:23 pm.