Tacoma resident Ursula Bannister, 79, found herself on the back of a special hero after she broke her ankle while hiking to the spot where she had scattered her mother’s ashes years ago.
On the fateful morning of Aug. 28, Bannister had chosen to make her yearly pilgrimage to High Rock Lookout near Ashford, Washington, where her mother’s ashes were laid.
“I know the trail very well, and there are always many people there,” Bannister told the U.S. Army. “When I couldn’t find anyone to accompany me on this outing, I just went by myself.”
As she descended the trail after having lunch on the platform, Bannister accidentally stepped into a hole. Feeling pain as her leg gave out, she cried for help. She knew something had gone terribly wrong with her ankle, and that she wouldn’t be able to make it down the mountain. Her only hope was that someone would hear her pleas for help….