A Utah doctor has been charged after faking hypothermia to be airlifted off of a mountain, reported Fox 13 News Salt Lake City. The doctor was airlifted from the highest mountain peak in North America.
Dr. Jason Lance, a radiologist with the Ogden Clinic, was charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska for three crimes in connection to the incident.
According to court documents, Lance, 47, used a satellite device on May 24th contact rescue crews to be retrieved from the top of the mountain after abandoning his attempt to summit.
Officials responded, "The helicopter cannot come to your location and is not flying any more tonight." The doctor wrote back, "Can't descend safely. Patients in shock. Early hypothermia."
Authorities launched the helicopter after hearing that someone was facing possibly fatal conditions. Court documents state that once the helicopter was in the air, guides informed them that the climbers began descending on their own power.
Climbers told officials that "neither of them had suffered from any form of medical shock or hypothermia at any point during their ascent or descent." They also said they "spent hours" trying to get Lance to descend with them but he refused.
Lance saw someone described as A.R. in court documents fall 1,000 feet after experiencing altitude sickness symptoms . Lance used the satellite device to send an SOS. Helicopter crews found A.R. alive, but unresponsive. Later, Lance tried to make his own attempt to be airlifted off the mountain but failed.
Officials later found deleted messages on the device between Lance and rescue officials. The doctor was charged with interference with a government employee, violating a lawful order, and filing a false report.