Hunter stranded after 14-foot plunge from tree stand into marsh, Maryland cops say

A hunter was badly hurt after plunging from a tree stand and into the marsh near a wildlife refuge in Maryland, authorities say.

The 14-foot fall left the man stranded in the “marshy terrain” and needing medical help near Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, Dec. 2, according to a Maryland state police news release.

Since he was in a remote region, and due to the “severity” of his injuries, a state police helicopter was requested to rescue him, the release said. With the helicopter on the way, first responders administered medical care to the man on the ground.

From above, the helicopter sent a state trooper paramedic down to the injured hunter to get him ready to be lifted from the marsh, according to police.

After the hunter was “packaged” and ready, he was hoisted 80 feet into the air and taken to a nearby trauma center, police said. The injuries the man suffered were not specified in the release.

The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is a waterfowl sanctuary where several bird species can be spotted. It is about 100 miles southeast of Washington, D.C.

This story was originally published December 4, 2022 at 1:54 PM with the headline "Hunter stranded after 14-foot plunge from tree stand into marsh, Maryland cops say."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.