The occupant of a Jeep that became stuck in the East Fork of the Carson River below Markleeville is picked up by a California Highway Patrol helicopter on Monday.
An attempt to ford Barney Riley Trail in a Jeep on Monday morning left two anglers stranded in the middle of the East Fork of the Carson River.
California Highway Patrol helicopter H-20 out of Auburn was dispatched in response to a 6:55 a.m. call from the Alpine County Sheriff’s Office.
Officer M. Cole said the flight stopped in South Lake Tahoe to pick up a water rescue technician from El Dorado County Search and Rescue with a Billy Pugh rescue net.
He said the helicopter arrived at the site in Alpine County within an hour of being called and the two men were plucked one at a time from the top of the Jeep.
Alpine County Search and Rescue members then transported them to where they could be picked up.
The Jeep was fished out of the river later on Monday.
Video of the rescue was posted to the California Highway Patrol’s social media on Wednesday.
The East Fork of the Carson River was running at 4.5 feet on Monday morning just below Markleeville, according to National Water Prediction Service observations. While not particularly high for a spring runoff, it is higher than it runs in August.