Rescuers pull off first of its kind operation after retired Channel 2 anchor tumbles down a ravine

First responders are ready to save lives in one of the trickiest spots in the Georgia mountains no matter how difficult it may be.

A member of the Channel 2 Action News family learned that recently.

“I’m Carol Sbarge. I was an anchor and reporter for 29 years at Channel 2.”

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Now retired from WSB-TV, Sbarge is an experienced hiker. In September, she was on a trail with her boyfriend in the Chattahoochee National Forest when this happened.

“So somehow, as I was kind of walking on the trail, my foot hit a rock. And before I knew it, I just went tumbling down this ravine,” she said.

Hiking back out? Impossible.

“I broke [it] in three spots here. Here and kind of the back of the ankle. So I have a plate here, and then I have eight screws,” Sbarge said as she showed Channel 2′s Linda Stouffer her injuries.

Sbarge and her boyfriend were so remote at first, they couldn’t even get a call out. Another hiker helped with the 911 call that went to Habersham County Emergency Services.

Crews drove as far as they could before they needed specialized equipment for a wilderness rescue.

“This is a rope bag. It’s got all the rope in and the connections that they need to do a rescue.”

They grabbed the gear and hiked in about two miles to Sbarge. Crews lifted her onto a wheeled board. But then more 911 calls came and paramedics were needed in several places at once.

“We’ve got a med unit going to the gorge now. We’ve got another med unit going to Panther Creek. Plus the other calls that are going on,” Habersham County Chief Jeffrey Adams said.

So they made a crucial call to do something that they had only practiced with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources: the first chopper rescue at Panther Creek Falls.

“So she was stable and we let the pilots know what was going on and we just went with it,” Battalion Chief Jason Garrett said.

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“That’s me being strapped into the chair,” Sbarge said as she showed Stouffer video of her rescue.

For 3.6 miles, Sbarge was floating over the Chattahoochee National Forest on the way to the hospital.

“It was textbook to what we had practiced. It was perfect,” Adams said.

“It was a perfect situation to use what we trained on,” Garrett said.

“They’re just special people. They’re putting themselves at risk. You know, every day they don’t know what kind of danger they’re going to face,” Sbarge said.

“It’s wonderful. Means we’ve done our job. We’ve done a good job at it and we got her to wherever needed to be. So makes me feel great all over,” paramedic Phillip Kimbrell said.

“And it’s amazing. I’m very appreciative,” Sbarge said.

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