The whump whump of a helicopter heard thundering above Central Kitsap during the early hours of Easter morning was likely a King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter on its way to help rescue an injured hiker in Jefferson County.
Reports of the low-flying helicopter came in from Seabeck to Silverdale and Bremerton, where windows were rattled, sleep was disturbed, questions were raised and the possibility of a United Nations invasion was pondered (by me).
The King County helicopter was sent to The Brothers mountains – across Hood Canal from Seabeck – to hoist the hiker and take him to Harborview Medical Center, said Deputy BJ Myers, spokesman for the office. The office’s Facebook page was updated at 12:25 a.m. to say the helicopter, known as Guardian 2, was preparing to launch.
Myers said the helicopter is known as being noisy. One person in Silverdale said it sounded like it was going to land on their roof. A man in Seabeck commented it did two passes over his house, which he found “rude.”
“It’s a super loud helicopter,” Myers said. “I know exactly what they are talking about.”
There was a medical airlift from Bainbridge Island at about 4:30 a.m. following a car crash. Tom Struck of Airlift Northwest said the helicopter took off from Boeing Field, went directly to Bainbridge and then flew to Harborview Medical Center.
“There’s no reason for us to do anything but fly a straight line back and forth,” he said, noting that the medical airlift helicopters are relatively quiet and generally do not generate complaints except for during warm weather when people sleep with their windows open.
Struck offered an alternative theory, however.
“One other thing it could have been was the Easter bunny.”
Since I was already awake when the chopper came through Seabeck, it didn’t bother me. Was surprised that the dogs didn’t bark. Figured it had to be a rescue flight.
I know that the church that runs out of Klahawya did an easter egg drop for a helicopter at around 10am on easter.
The sound sent over my house, moved away from it and then came back over it at least one to two more times. it woke me up and I had enough time to begin to wonder where on earth it was trying to land around my house. strange…