Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 11, 1990 TAG: 9006110148
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
"It ain't funny," Hall said. "We spent all day Sunday chasing balloons."
About 60 rescue workers from throughout the area had responded after park rangers received two reports of a downed hang glider in the trees off the Blue Ridge Parkway.
A passerby from Tennessee and a telephone caller had reported someone hanging on the glider when it crashed near White's Gap just northwest of Buena Vista.
Bruce Bytnar, district ranger, said rangers spotted a large white object near the bottom of the mountain before calling rescue workers in.
Hall said emergency services workers from Buena Vista, Lexington, Fairfield, Glasgow and Goshen battled hot temperatures in a hike down rugged, steep terrain before locating the object.
It turned out to be a bouquet of white balloons adorned with pink ribbons.
"They looked like they were something from a wedding," Hall said. But he maintained a humanitarian attitude: "I'd rather find a balloon than a body."
Bytnar took a more practical approach.
"Balloons were a lot easier to carry out than a person," he said.
by CNB