Injured Hiker Airlifted Off Rancho Mirage Trail

RANCHO MIRAGE, CA - An injured hiker was airlifted off a Rancho Mirage trail Tuesday and taken to a hospital for treatment of moderate injuries.

The rescue operation began at 10:44 a.m. at the Mike Schuler Trail, west of Painters Path, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

The hiker sustained an unspecified "lower extremity injury" about a mile and a half up the trail, prompting firefighters to hike up the mountainside to locate the unidentified victim, according to the fire department.

Firefighters helped load the patient onto a Cal Fire helicopter, which flew the hiker to a waiting ambulance.

— By City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone