Overview
- Jake McCollum, 18, fell about 80 metres near the summit of Mount Walsh during his first solo hike, suffering a fractured spine, broken ribs, internal bleeding and a head injury.
- After the fall he activated a personal locator beacon, triggering an alert picked up in Canberra that set the rescue in motion.
- With his phone smashed, he answered his mother’s calls through Bluetooth headphones and stayed connected for more than five hours as his parents relayed information to police.
- Rescuers struggled to pinpoint him because he was off the main trail, the beacon signal reflected off rock faces, and dense foliage and shadow concealed him.
- LifeFlight crews located him roughly five hours after the fall, spent more than an hour stabilising him, and winched him out for an airlift to hospital, where he spent several days recovering.