Boy Scouts rescued injured NBC journalist Ann Curry off New York mountain
There's a merit badge for that.
The scouts of Troop 368 had no idea that the injured hiker they carried down Harriman State Park's Bear Mountain with a crafted splint and stretcher was television journalist Ann Curry.
The scouts of Berkeley Heights, N.J., hiked upon the stranded news woman on April 5 as she sat on the ground, according to Scouting Magazine. The troop was about to pass her by when a concerned scout asked Curry if she was okay.
'No, not really,' Curry said. 'I think I broke my ankle.'
Curry needed medical attention, but she told the young scouts to keep going, the magazine reported. They ignored her pleas and instead scattered into the woods to handcraft a splint for her swelling leg.
The boys then built a makeshift stretcher by tying a tarp to two poles and tested it on a scout before carrying Curry down the mountain.
It took some time to trek the steep terrain as they carefully avoided rocks on the trail, but the pained Curry stayed in good spirits and even asked the troop about their trip to the upstate New York park. They made it to the trailhead where her husband helped pack her into a car for a trip to the hospital.
The couple drove off, but shortly after, a pair of forest rangers arrived: 'Is there somebody up there who needs rescuing?'
Not anymore.
It made no difference that the injured hiker was a famous television personality, but one of the adults, Rick Jurgens, finally asked his scouts: 'Do you know who that woman was? That was Ann Curry.'
The name didn't ring a bell with the scouts, but one of the leaders took out his phone and showed the kids her news reports. The scouts couldn't believe it.
The troop's textbook rescue was commended by a letter written by Curry and sent to each of the scouts nearly a month later.
'Your skill and professionalism were a great comfort to me,' Curry wrote. 'I feel enormously lucky you came along at just the right moment, and were so willing to help a stranger in need.'
The letter also detailed that Curry actually broke her leg during the hike and it would take nearly three months to heal.
nhensley@nydailynews.com
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