Rescue Coordination Center officials help save 3 lives Published July 10, 2009 TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- Air Force Rescue Coordination Center officials here helped coordinate three separate search and rescue operations in Utah, Washington and Colorado July 8 with local and state agencies saving the lives of three American citizens. The Beaver County Sheriff and Utah Department of Safety contacted the AFRCC staff to ask for federal assistance to search for a missing man who had gone prospecting in the Frisco Mountains, 180 miles Southwest of Salt Lake City. Officials from the AFRCC responded by coordinating with the Utah Civil Air Patrol to search for the individuals vehicle. Civil Air Patrol officials spotted the vehicle near Frisco Peak and directed the Beaver County Sheriff's Office to the scene where the prospector was recovered. He was listed in good condition with minor injuries and transported to a local hospital. "Had the Civil Air Patrol not be involved, this mission could have taken much longer, since his location was difficult to observe from the ground," said Corporal Vincent Cox of the Beaver County Sheriff's Office. "CAP's ability to search the area and spot the man's vehicle saved his life." "On any given day the AFRCC may be coordinating several search and rescue operations at once," said Lt. Col. Clifton Hicks, the AFRCC director of operations. CAP officials perform 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and was credited by the AFRCC with saving 91 lives in fiscal 2008. In a separate incident, a young man fell in a rocky beach area at Olympia National Park in Washington State. Officials from the Olympia National Park Emergency Operations Center contacted the AFRCC staff to request airlift for the individual. The AFRCC staff contacted the District 13 Coast Guard who launched a HH-65A helicopter out of Group/Air Station Port Angeles, Wash. Due to the mountainous terrain, the helicopter could not land and had to hoist the individual out of the area and transport him to a local hospital. The man was listed in serious condition with a head injury and a broken wrist. On the same day at nearly the same time as the Olympia National Park incident, the Colorado Search and Rescue Board contacted the AFRCC staff to ask for federal assistance to rescue a hiker who had fallen approximately 1,500 feet near Crestone, Colo. The hiker was descending Kit Carson Peak when he lost his footing, according to the Denver Post. Officials from the AFRCC responded by coordinating with the Colorado Army National Guard who launched a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from Buckley Air Force Base, Colo. Using night-vision goggles, the helicopter crew rescued the individual and transported him to a local hospital for further medical treatment. The man was listed in critical condition with a head injury and broken arm. As the United States' inland search and rescue coordinator, the AFRCC serves as the single agency responsible for coordinating federal search and rescue activities in the 48 contiguous United States. The AFRCC, a unit under Air Forces Northern, operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The center directly ties in to the Federal Aviation Administration's alerting system and the U.S. Mission Control Center. In addition to search and rescue satellite-aided tracking information, the AFRCC computer system contains resource files that list federal and state organizations which can conduct or assist in search and rescue efforts throughout North America. For more information on the AFRCC and other missions of the 601st Air and Space Operations Center, log on to Facebook and type "America's AOC" in the search block to become a fan today.