Helicopter Goes Down in Stanislaus; Minor Injuries

Investigation is underway into what´s termed a “hard” helicopter landing yesterday afternoon in the Stanislaus National Forest.

Six people were on board the Navy search chopper from Fallon Naval Air Station in Nevada. They were taken to
Tuolumne General Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. Forest Service officials say 4 were military, and 2 were from the Office of Emergency
Services.

The plane issued a “Mayday” call at about 1 p-m, and was found on the ground about 20 minutes later on the East side of Granite Dome,
south of Kennedy Meadows. The plane was part of a major search team looking for hiker Eric Tucker of Mountain View. He´s been missing since July
3rd.