A woman, identified as a "20 something female” from New Mexico, was on a day hike near Silverton, Colorado, when she fell and broke her leg. After spending the night out in the wilderness, she managed to get herself to a spot on the bank of the Animas River where she could be seen by a passing train.
A passenger on the first train of the day thought she may have seen a woman in the snow from the moving train. She asked some other people if they saw her but no one had. She debated if she had imagined it but decided to alert the train staff, who called the authorities. A short time later, crews from Silverton Medical Rescue found the woman and, using a “trolley-like system,” managed to get her to a spot where a helicopter was able to reach her.
The injured hiker was airlifted to a hospital in Telluride for treatment and her family says she has a “long road of healing” ahead of her, but they’re thankful that she made it out alive. A spokesperson with the Colorado Office of Emergency Management said it was an amazing feat that the woman survived the ordeal. They also praised the unnamed woman on the train for overcoming her doubts and saying something.
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