Nov 14, 2009 7:22 am US/Pacific
LAPD Rescues Hypothermic, Deaf Woman Off Hillside
SIMI VALLEY
A Los Angeles police helicopter crew helped rescuers on the ground find a hypothermic deaf woman in stuck on a hillside in the dark.
Tereza Kristall, 45, was reported missing by her 14-year-old son Friday night, said Simi Valley police Lt. Blair Summey.
The youth was getting text messages from his mother, saying she was on a
hillside and getting cold. Simi Valley police asked the Los Angeles Police
Department for help, and a helicopter was dispatched, while police kept in
contact via text messages and used GPS data from the phone to help locate her.
Rescuers on the ground found Kristall on a hill off Yosemite Avenue about the time the LAPD's Air 18 arrived -- just after 11 p.m., Simi Valley police Sgt. Rich Lamb said.
"She was very cold, hypothermic," Lamb said. "Firefighters carried her off the hill on a backboard. It took them a while to get down off the hill. It was pretty steep."
Paramedics took Kristall to a hospital where she was treated. She had suffered some cuts in a fall, police said.
Summey said she was lucky to have had her phone with her, Summey said.
"The Simi Valley Police Department would like to remind all hikers enjoying the many trails that surround our city to always hike with someone else whenever possible," he said. "Know your physical limitations, dress appropriately, carry sufficient water along with a first aid kit."
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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