Guard helicopter crew rescues men, dog

A Nevada National Guard helicopter crew picked up two Nevada Department of Wildlife seasonal workers and a dog early this morning during a search-and-rescue mission near Hawthorne.

Both men were taken to Mount Grant General Hospital but were not admitted.

According to Nevada Guard aviation officer Capt. Andrew Wagner, a Nevada Department of Wildlife stream survey crew member became ill Tuesday afternoon.

The crew was in a remote area on Mount Grant assessing fish habitat and conducting population surveys when heat overtook one team member. Three of the five men in the team hiked out to notify emergency officials.

The ill team member and one cohort remained on Mount Grant with Tuff, a 3-year-old German wired-hair pointer.

Wagner, commander of the Nevada Army Guard's 168th Medical Evacuation unit, received a call for assistance at 2 a.m. and his unit launched a Black Hawk helicopter at 4:27 a.m.

Once the Black Hawk crew located the survey team, they began rescue operations.

Spc. Anthony Della was lowered by hoist to the ground where he assisted the two men. After the dog's owner was hoisted up to the helicopter, Tuff ran off and a 30-minute chase ensued with Della finally securing the dog.

"The 55-pound dog was a new situation for us and I had to figure out a method to rig the animal for the hoist," Della said. "I then hooked myself in and held Tuff close to calm him while we were lifted about a 100 feet to the aircraft."

Paramedics waiting near Hawthorne transported the men to the hospital.