Teen rescued from Appalachian Trail after breaking leg

GREENVILLE — A teenager who suffered a broken leg on the Appalachian Trail was airlifted off a mountain east of Greenville on Wednesday, July 5.

Johan Cordoba, 16, of Montreal was hiking with 10 others, including a pair of camp counselors from Camp Tekakwitha in Leeds, when he lost his footing on a downhill portion of the trail, according to a news release from the Maine Warden Service.

The group was between Third and Fourth Mountains in Township 7 Range 9, about 15 miles east of Greenville, near the midway point of an 18-day hike in Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness portion of the trail. They managed to contact the wardens, who called the Appalachian Mountain Club for assistance.

The two agencies entered the trail near Third Mountain and tracked down the group of hikers. Wardens stabilized Cordoba’s broken leg and helped carry him out to an area near Third Mountain where a Maine Forest Service helicopter used a 100-foot long line to lift Cordoba out of the area.

The helicopter took Cordoba to its base in Old Town, and a waiting ambulance took him to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor for treatment.