[at-l] Story about rescued hikers

[kevin umberger <kevinumberger@juno.com>]

Hello...

I've had a request to post the story about the rescue hikers so here it
is.

I'm going to post the AP version of the story and then the script of the
story from my station----(used without permission).......

Rescuers shoulg get to road at midafternoon
(Gatlinburg-AP) -- Rangers are walking three exhausted hikers through
deep snow to a road where they can be taken out of the Smokies.  
	It may be midafternoon before the rescue party can hike about three
miles of Sugarlands Mountain Trail to the road.  It's being plowed now to
get a vehicle into position.
	The two men and a woman from Knoxville called for help on a cellular
telephone last night, saying they intended to hike eleven miles to a
shelter.  They became exhausted tramping through ten inches of snow and
ice and became wet.
	Two teams of rangers reached them this morning with dry clothing and hot
drinks.

(Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press)


Now the Six Eyewitness News version-----

	It was a cold cold night to be stuck on a mountainside in the Smokies,
but three stranded hikers are okay.
	Thanks for joining us..I'm Lori Tucker..And I'm Don Dare...Clay is off
tonight..

(map  over this part) The three, all from Knox County, left from the
Laurel Falls trailhead, hiking toward the Mount Collins shelter along the
Sugarland Mountain Trail.
	But they never made it to the shelter.
	Paul Spelman is back from Newfound Gap with the story.
	Paul, a cellphone may have saved them....

(Paul speaking)	They were able to use a cellphone to contact the park
last night, after they realized they couldn't make it to safety.
	That started the wheels in motion, and today, rescue crews were able to
get them out.

(video part)	It was a long wait after a sleepless night for John Hall and
Micheal Terry Cooper.
(soundbite)	(Cooper's father) "ain't going to sleep, not until I see
them"
	Cooper's son, and Hall's son and daughter, became the focus of a park
service rescue operation Thursday, after the three became stranded high
in the Smokies Wednesday night.
(soundbite)	(Hall's father) "well I was scared.  It gets pretty cold up
here."
	About fifteen degrees according to reports, cold enough to make life
very unpleasant.
	The three had started on a 12 mile hike up the Sugarland Mountain Trail,
but ran out of steam two mile below a shelter and called for help.
(soundbite)	(Bob Miller-Park PIO) "it's a good thing they had a cell
phone, but it's no substitute for the right plan and the right equipment"
	Thursday Ronald Cooper and Micheal Hall walked out with rescue crews
after getting a little help.  Special carry out cres had to put Hall's
sister Kelly on a strecher.
(soundbite)	(Ronald Cooper) "they had to carry her out cause she couldn't
walk no more and had to give her IV cause she was dehydrated"
	But the three are now fine, and say they expected cold weather, they
just didn't expect that much snow.
(Paul's standup)	"The snow at the start of the trail wasn't all that
deep.  But, by the top, it's over a foot, and they said it just became
too much for them to handle."
(soundbite) 	(Micheal Hall) "takes you forever to take ten steps, you
know it just got pretty bad when she couldn't keep going, we just set up
right there."
(soundbite)	(Ronald Cooper) "I worried a bunch of times, thinking I
didn't make it...I just sat down andj prayed, tried to keep everybody
awake and on the phone."

(Paul on camera)	 They also could have been better prepared, we're told
one of the three was wearing tennis shoes.  But fortunately the first
rescue of the year for the Park Service had a happy ending.

(Copyright Young Broadcasting----Six Eyewitness News)




Kevin "can't wait to see the discussion about this one" Umberger


________________________________________________________________
YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.
* From the AT-L |  Need help? http://www.backcountry.net/faq.html  *

==============================================================================