A Salt Lake County woman is recovering after being wedged in and suspended for nearly 12 hours in a narrow portion of Zero Gravity Canyon in the San Rafael Desert.

Emery County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch received a call on Wednesday afternoon @ 4:30 from the woman’s husband. He stated that his 24-year-old wife was stuck in a slot canyon and that he had been trying to get her out for nearly 2 hours. When he couldn’t free her, he hiked until he had cell phone service and called 9-1-1.

Emery County Search and Rescue rope team members and the State DPS helicopter were dispatched, as well as the Classic Air helicopter out of Vernal. Once responders arrived near the scene, the State DPS helicopter transported the men and their gear to the canyon.

The first rescuer on scene was able to make verbal contact with the woman. She was extremely distraught, in pain and was having difficulty breathing due to being wedged in.

The woman was wearing a harness, so rescuers rigged a system to pull her out. However, she was wedged in so tightly that pulling on her was causing more pain.

One rescuer entered the slot canyon below the woman and was able to touch the bottom of her feet, giving her a way to push against him as she was being pulled from above.

Rescuers then set more anchors and set up a haul line above the woman, while others pulled from side to side in a see saw motion in an attempt to free her.

Additionally, a gallon of dish soap was poured around the woman, a technique that had been successful in a prior rescue in the same general area.

One of the rescuers was on a rope in the canyon for nearly 7 hours.

Rescuers were eventually able to free the woman and pull her up far enough that she could sit on a choke stone in the slot canyon while they fitted her with a better harness for extraction. She was loaded into the medical helicopter around 2:00 a.m., nearly 12 hours after becoming trapped.