Crime & Safety

8-Year-Old Girl Rescued from Ravine at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center

Bayside police, North Shore firefighters team up to rescue child, who did not have serious injuries after fall.

Bayside police and North Shore Fire Department crews Monday rescued an 8-year-old girl who became trapped at the bottom of a ravine during a hike at the .

The girl was with one of the many student groups that take trips daily throughout the center. She tripped over a rock and cut her leg around noon, and was unable to walk back to the top of the ravine on her own, said Bayside Police Chief Bruce Resnick.

Rescuers were hampered by mud that was a result of the heavy rains that fell earlier in the day.

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"Runoff from all the rain created very slick and muddy conditions," North Shore Fire Department Deputy Chief Andrew Harris said. "Pretty treacherous, so just to be safe, we used ropes to help move the patient out."

Resnick added: "The problem was at the bottom of the ravine."

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It took more than 40 minutes, but police and firefighters were finally able to reach her.

Emergency dispatchers were told that the girl had fallen somewhere near but didn't have more details. Resnick said they first attempted to reach her through the ravine at the bottom of the path at the north end of the park, but the girl was still a quarter mile north of there.

It took a total of 12 firefighters and a lot of rope to get the girl out safely. Her twin sister was there as well, and held her hand during the entire rescue.

Once rescuers had her secured in a Stokes basket, they were able to hoist the girl out of the ravine. But the easiest way to get the girl out was through a fence, and Resnick said rescuers had to cut away a portion of it and then pull the girl through.

"Fortunately, everyone's equipped and trained for this," he said.


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