Chinese National With Broken Leg Rescued From Crater Lake After Evading Questions From Rescuers

KLAMATH COUNTY, Ore. — A Crater Lake park worker rescued 26-year-old Yu Xia, a Chinese national visiting from Delaware, with a broken leg early Sunday morning after Klamath County Search and Rescue (SAR) teams could not descend to the waterline as conditions were unsafe.

Xia was not particularly cooperative with responders, providing limited information about how he ended up at the waterline.

Responding to a 9-1-1 call from two hikers who had heard the man yelling from the waterline on Saturday at around 9:00 PM, SAR teams from Klamath and Jackson Counties were hampered by darkness, and the steep terrain made it unsafe to rope down that night. The search resumed early Sunday morning.

Crews could occasionally hear the man yelling, but finding him proved extremely difficult. Oregon Emergency Management coordinated with a Blackhawk helicopter crew training in northern Oregon to assist after experiencing delays in accessing park boats, but the chopper had limited time on-site before needing to refuel in Medford.

Xia, whose vehicle was found at Waterman Point, while he was found near Discovery Point—about a mile away as the crow flies, eventually made contact with a park worker in a boat and was brought to the dock, where medics evaluated him.

He refused further transport and was not particularly cooperative with responders. He also only gave limited information about how he ended up at the waterline.