By Cara Miller
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Two UA students were rescued from Mount Lemmon early Monday morning after a 10- to 15-foot fall.
Matthew Cloutier, a political science sophomore, and Alexandra Limber, a junior Spanish major, were rescued about 1 a.m. Monday and taken to Tucson Medical Center.
The pair was found by other hikers in the area. Rescue efforts began at 5:15 p.m. Sunday when Southern Arizona Rescue Association and Pima County Sheriff's Department were called to the scene to provide assistance to a Rural Metro team already in place.
"Our main concern was to take care of their injuries and try to keep them warm and dry," team member Bill Kelleman said.
Kelleman said the extraction was more difficult than usual because of the rainy weather conditions. Cloutier and Limber were lowered from a 150-foot vertical drop, stabilized and lowered another 450 feet.
"We were advised that Cloutier had possible femur damage," Kelleman said. "We think he was up on the mountain to take photographs for a school project. We're not exactly sure how it happened."
Kelleman said team members heard reports that they were attempting to move positions when rocks on the mountain fell on them.
"We think the falling rocks caused the actual injuries," he said.
Nursing Coordinator Barbara Shepherd said the two were in satisfactory condition. No further information was available.