On Saturday, July 2, 1955, Dr. Charles Brisbin of Pittsburg, California, fell while taking photographs of his fishing companions in a remote stretch of the American River canyon.
He was knocked unconscious and had a terrible wound on the back of his head.
One companion remained with him while another hiked three hours to find a forest ranger who called Placer County Sheriff Bill Scott for assistance.
Scott organized and led a rescue party that consisted of forest rangers and members of the nearby Iron Mine Forestry Camp. He arranged for the injured hiker to be flown from a waiting plane at the airstrip of the Stockton Box Company, but that required a difficult hike out of the bottom of the canyon.
According to the June 7, 1955, Auburn Journal:
“Sheriff Scott described the terrain as so difficult you would not believe it if you saw it…workers had to lift the basket containing the physician as much as 40 feet over rock and other obstacles in the 2,500-foot rise in one and half miles to the airstrip.”
It took nine hours, but they were successful in getting Brisbin out of the canyon and loaded onto an airplane.
Brisbin was diagnosed with a basal skull fracture, but he survived and, over time, healed. He was able to continue his practice.
Photo: Placer County Sheriff Bill Scott, c. 1955
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