A solo fisherman trapped beneath a huge boulder was rescued after using Siri to call 911 through his headphones.
Joseph Little, 28, was fishing alone at a marina in Hammond, an Astoria neighborhood on Oregon’s coast, when a boulder broke loose and landed on him, according to his family and emergency crews.
The Warrenton Fire Department reached the scene at 7.38am on Sunday and found Little trapped beneath the rock. Because the unstable terrain made it impossible for firefighters to remove him safely, the Coast Guard was called in to help.
A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew arrived at 9.55am, lifted Little clear of the rocks and took him to Columbia Memorial Hospital.
In an online fundraiser, Little’s family said he could not free himself but managed to use his headphones to summon help.
‘What followed was an incredible rescue effort. Multiple agencies, first responders, and helicopters came together to locate Joe, free him from beneath the boulder, and get him the emergency medical care he desperately needed,’ the fundraiser’s description said.
Little’s mother, Mindy, told local Fox affiliate KPTV that her son used his Bluetooth earbuds to tell Siri to call 911. The earbuds remained connected after the boulder crushed him.
‘His face got smashed. He’s almost unrecognizable. It’s a miracle that my son is alive,’ Mindy said.
Joseph Little was rescued on Sunday morning after a boulder crushed him while he was fishing alone. He is pictured with his wife, Sabrina. Picture source: Sabrina Little / Facebook
Footage released by the Coast Guard shows an emergency responder being lowered from the helicopter and securing Little to a stretcher before he was lifted to safety.
Little underwent extensive surgery after the incident. His mother described his survival as a ‘miracle’ and said he was ‘almost unrecognizable.’ Picture source: Support Now
Sergeant Dylan McCoy of the Warrenton Police told the outlet that responders searched for Little by sounding their vehicle horns while a dispatcher asked whether he could hear them.
Crews also deployed a drone, eventually locating Little with only part of his upper body visible above the rocks.
Firefighters cleared away smaller rocks around Little to create a path out. Once the Coast Guard arrived, he was lifted from the hazardous area.
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Dramatic video shows a Coast Guard responder descending from a helicopter over the rocky shoreline.
The responder placed Little on a stretcher and secured him while another Coast Guard crew member raised them into the helicopter.
‘Today showcased how the Coast Guard and local agencies work together to save lives,’ said Chief Petty Officer Patrick Toomey, command duty officer for Coast Guard Sector Columbia River.
The Coast Guard cautioned that jetties and breakwaters can be extremely hazardous, with slippery, uneven surfaces and shifting tides capable of moving boulders.
Little’s grandmother, Kelly Simonson, told KPTV that he felt the boulder move and tried to get out of its path. However, he slipped before the rock crushed him.
A Coast Guard responder was lowered onto the scene before Little was lifted aboard the helicopter.
Local police and fire crews used a drone to pinpoint Little’s location as a 911 dispatcher asked him to locate honks from emergency responders
The Coast Guard warned that breakwaters and jetties often have uneven surfaces and changing tides that can shift boulders, making fishing conditions dangerous
Little is now recovering in the hospital with his wife by his side. The family said in an update on Thursday that he was preparing for facial reconstruction surgery
According to Little’s Facebook profile, he works for the City of Gearhart and married his wife, Sabrina, in 2024.
The family has raised over $20,000 as of Thursday night for Little’s recovery. ‘Joe and Sabrina have a long and difficult journey ahead of them,’ the fundraiser’s description read.
‘Sabrina is staying by Joe’s side as they face the uncertainty of his injuries, treatment, and recovery together.’
His family wrote in an update on Thursday that Joe was preparing to go into surgery for facial reconstruction.
Our News Outlet has reached out to Little’s family for additional comment.
