Hiker Rescued After 5 Days On Ice-Covered Mountain Near Lawton

LAWTON, Okla. (AP) -- A 50-year-old Medicine Park man who broke his leg while hiking on Mt. Scott spent five days in the frozen wilderness before being rescued from the mountain's ice-covered north

Saturday, January 20th 2007, 8:59 am

By: News On 6

LAWTON, Okla. (AP) -- A 50-year-old Medicine Park man who broke his leg while hiking on Mt. Scott spent five days in the frozen wilderness before being rescued from the mountain's ice-covered north face.

The hiker reached the 2,464-foot peak on Monday, when he fell off an icy rock and broke his leg above the ankle, said Ralph Bryant, deputy manager of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

A group of hikers discovered the man on Friday and notified authorities. The man, whose name wasn't released, was taken to a local hospital, where he remained on Saturday, Bryant said.

"He basically just tried to crawl and slide his way down the mountain," Bryant said. "Fortunately, these other people had decided they wanted to hike up the mountain."

The refuge had closed the mountain to vehicle traffic all week because of ice-covered roads. No missing reports had been filed and no one knew about the hiker, Bryant said.