IDAHO FALLS — After portraying heroes in the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" movie series, actor Harrison Ford engaged in some real-life heroics by rescuing an ailing hiker off an 11,106-foot peak with his helicopter.
Sarah George, 20, of Idaho Falls and Megan Freeman, 22, of Rigby were on a five-hour climb of Table Mountain last Monday when heat, altitude and dehydration left George sick and unable to take more than a couple steps at a time.
Another hiker called for help on his cell phone, and Harrison Ford was en route with his Bell 407 helicopter.
The part-time Jackson, Wyo., resident offers his flying skills and helicopter to Lincoln and Teton counties in Wyoming for rescue missions, Teton County Sheriff Bob Zimmer said. It saves the counties the $1,000 an hour it would cost for a private pilot.
Freeman and two other hikers were able to move George about two miles from the summit to a meadow where Ford could land. The women had no idea who the rescuer would be.
Freeman was told there wasn't enough room. She later admitted a little jealousy, not because she missed meeting Ford, but because she still had to descend the mountain.
Even after George was in the helicopter, she did not know who the pilot was. Finally, the emergency medical technician on board made it clear.
"He was wearing a T-shirt and a cowboy hat," she said. "He didn't look like I'd ever seen him before."
George was taken to St. John's Hospital, and after a couple of days rest, she has recovered.