A Sunday afternoon hike and swim did not go as planned for a couple visiting the Pocket Wilderness area at the foot of Mowbray Mountain and its swimming areas known to locals as the “Blue” and “Green” holes.
A woman was attempting to swing from a rope swing in the area when she let go too early and fell onto a large rock before hitting the water.
She sustained a leg fracture from the fall, according to Asst. Chief Dusten Woodard with the Mowbray Volunteer Fire Department. It took more than 60 personnel at least four hours to remove her from the scene, because the injury took place about two miles from the trail entrance, authorities said.
The injured woman is a 26-year-old from Lincoln, Neb., who was visiting her boyfriend who lives in Ringgold, Ga., according to Woodard.
Officials with Tennessee State Parks went to the area Monday morning and disposed of the various ropes people have hung on the trees near the swimming areas, said Amy Maxwell, spokeswoman for the Hamilton County Emergency Services.
Agencies involved in the rescue were the Mowbray Volunteer Fire Department, the Sequoyah Volunteer Fire Department, Sale Creek’s Volunteer Fire Department, Chattanooga-Hamilton County’s Rescue, Walden’s Ridge Emergency Services, Flat Top Volunteer Fire Department, Lewis Chapel Volunteer Fire Department, Dunlap Fire Department, and Hamilton County STARS, Maxwell said.