Tyro
Nelson County, VA
Updated 1:33PM EDT 3.20.12
Nelson Sheriff Brooks says the search for a possible missing hiker has been called off due to developing thunderstorms in the area of SW Nelson County. Numerous searchers are on horseback and in very high elevations. Nearby storms pose a great threat of lightning strikes to people on the ridge lines.
Sheriff Brooks said nothing had been found as of the search being called of early Tuesday afternoon.
Updated 10:00AM EDT
Nelson Sheriff Brooks says the search for a missing possibly injured hiker continues Tuesday. “A radio two-way radio broadcast was heard on Monday afternoon by a nearby fisherman. The call for help said a person had fallen into a ravine along the AT in Nelson County,” Sheriff Brooks said. The two way radio was most likely a family services radio according to other rescue personnel on the scene.
The Virginia Department of Emergency Services was on the scene Tuesday morning as has been assisting in the search with teams sweeping the area.
Updated 8:55PM EDT
Nelson Sheriff Brooks says the VSP team has cleared the area and has left the search at this time. “We still have 7 other teams that are searching portions of the trail. We are not exactly how much longer the search will go on tonight,” the sheriff said just before 9PM Monday night.
Original post at 7:01 PM 3.19.12
NCL has confirmed authorities and rescue personnel are in the process of organizing a search along the Appalachian Trail here in Nelson County. “The only information we have right now is that a person called in on a two way radio and asked for help. They said they’d fallen into a ravine,” Nelson Sheriff Brooks said Monday evening around 6:30 PM.
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A command post has been setup in the Tyro area by authorities to begin conducting a search for a person that made a distress radio call for help along the Appalachian Trail.
His men along with rescue personnel are setting up in the Tyro area to coordinate the search from there. The Virginia State Police also has a helicopter enroute to the scene to assit in the search.
More as we know.
