Teacher's aide falls, suffers leg injury

From KTVZ.COM news sources

A class trip to the Lava River Cave south of Bend turned into something altogether different - a 2-hour rescue operation in the chilly darkness for a teacher's aide who fell and suffered an apparent leg injury, authorities said.

Sue Caldwell, 42, of Pendleton, was in the area on a field trip with a group of McKay Creek Elementary students, teachers and chaperones, exploring the caves after a trip to Benham Falls.

Caldwell "fell and heard something crack" in her leg, said Al Hornish of Deschutes County Sheriff's Search and Rescue.

The woman was about a half-mile into the cave and unable to walk back out, prompting call-out of the SAR team and Sunriver Fire medics.

About six Sunriver personnel responded and provided medical assistance, preparing Caldwell and then packing her out of the cave, said sheriff's Cpl. Wayne Morgan.

Meanwhile, seven SAR personnel entered the cave with a wheeled litter and maneuvered their way over the jagged rocks and uneven ground to meet up with the group, moving her to the wheeled litter.

"It's very rocky down in there," Hornish said. "It's obviously dark. We use headlamps, and you're basically bringing out dead weight."

Caldwell was out of the cave and transferred to a Sunriver Fire ambulance around 12:40 p.m., Morgan said. The woman was taken to St. Charles Medical Center-Bend for treatment.

For the volunteers, a rescue from the cave isn't too uncommon.

"We usually have about two a year," Hornish said. "The key is knowing the area you're going into and being safe, well-prepared."