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NEWPORT — Last June Pend Oreille County Dispatcher Rachel Lee received a 911 call about a 15-year-old boy who had fallen down a 300-foot remote hillside and been seriously injured. He was one of three boys who had been hiking near Riverview Bible Camp, just off Highway 20 north of Newport when they got lost and he fell.
“Dispatcher Lee quickly built a rapport with the boys and kept them calm while they waited for first responders to arrive,” Blakeslee said. The boys didn’t know exactly where they were, but eventually rescuers were able to locate them. Lee was on the phone with the boys for over an hour and even prayed with the boys when they asked. The injured hiker had multiple fractures and a head injury. “She remained calm under pressure and provided lifesaving medical instructions at a critical time,” Blakeslee said, while she coordinated the initial response.
