At approximately 12:04 p.m. on Saturday, June 27, 2026, the Missoula Rural Fire District (MRFD) was dispatched to a report of a person who had fallen from the rocks near Mile Marker 1 on Highway 200 and landed in the Blackfoot River.
The first MRFD engine company arrived in less than five minutes and located the patient approximately 50 feet below the top of the cliffs, in an area commonly referred to as “Heaven.” Firefighters made voice contact with the patient’s companion, who had successfully pulled the patient from the river onto a small rock outcropping approximately 15 feet above the water.
Due to the steep, difficult terrain, firefighters determined the safest and fastest course of action was to have a firefighter/paramedic rappel to the patient’s location to begin advanced medical care while additional rescue personnel responded to the Bonner Game Check area to launch a rescue boat. The boat traveled downstream to reach the patient.
Firefighter/paramedics provided advanced life support to the patient, who had sustained serious injuries in the fall. The patient was located on a narrow rock outcropping with very limited space for rescuers to work. Because of the patient’s injuries and the challenges of removing the patient up the steep cliff, rescuers determined that transporting the patient by boat downstream was the quickest and safest option.
The patient was carefully loaded onto the rescue boat and transported to an extrication point near Kettle House Brewery, where firefighters carried the patient to a waiting ambulance from Missoula Emergency Services, Inc. (MESI). The patient was then transported to Providence St. Patrick Hospital for further treatment.
No additional information regarding the patient’s condition is available currently.
Source: Missoula Rural Fire
Photo: Pixabay, Camera-man
