OTHO - Boneyard Hollow in Dolliver Memorial State Park is well-known locally as an excellent place to search for old animal bones.
But it's a bad place to find yourself if you may have broken one.
Robin Morandi, 48, of Lehigh, found that out Thursday afternoon when he slipped on some moss-covered rocks before falling an estimated 15 to 20 feet onto a ledge.
The area where he landed is at the end of several hundred feet of rugged trail, across a rocky creek bed and up a rock wall about 12 feet tall.
The area that includes the park is also well-known for another thing: terrible cell phone reception.
Despite that, Morandi was able to get a call out to a relative, who summoned help.
According to Otho Fire Chief Marty Smith, crews had to locate the injured man by sound because he was not visible from the trail.
"We just heard him moaning," Smith said.
Once he was found, getting him down from the cliff and out of the woods was the primary problem.
Otho crews called for mutual aid assistance from the Fort Dodge Fire Department, which brought along high-angle rope rescue equipment.
Fort Dodge Fire Department Lt. Jeff Hill explained that one of the biggest challenges they faced was finding a secure place to anchor their ropes while setting up a system to lower Morandi in a rescue litter. Once he was off the cliff ledge, getting him out of the woods still involved carrying him across a rock-filled creek bed and down a primitive trail.
Lt. Rod Case, with the Otho Fire Department, stated that Morandi suffered a head injury and may have had a broken shoulder. He was transported to Trinity Regional Medical Center.
Had he not been able to call for help, he might still be there.
"He's lucky that he had a cell phone that got service," Case said.
Smith explained that without the call, nobody would have seen the injured man lying on the rock. It could have been some time before he was reported missing, much less sought. Even then, he would have been difficult to find in the rugged terrain.
"He's lucky, " Smith said. "He's real lucky."
Contact Hans Madsen at (515) 573-2141 or hmadsen@messengernews.net
