Dispatcher honored for cool handling of ice-cave collapse

Almost eight months have passed, and pain still lingers in an ankle, a hand, in young backs. But Seattle teenagers Alec Corbett and Alessandro Gelmini have otherwise recovered from an ice-cave collapse that trapped them for hours beneath snow and ice.

Their survival, however, is a reminder for dispatcher Becky McCracken — who took the call, calmed their panicked mothers and guided rescuers to the cave near Snoqualmie Pass — of the importance of her work.

"This is the reason I do this job, to have outcomes like this," she said.

McCracken, a King County Emergency Medical Services' dispatcher, was honored Thursday for the hourlong 911 call that led to the boys' rescue. Alec, 18; Alessandro, 15; and their mothers also made a teary, surprise appearance at the ceremony, where supervisors commended McCracken for calming the mothers down, figuring out where the families were and ensuring people's safety.

On Aug. 21, the boys were exploring an ice cave on the Denny Creek Trail in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest when the cave collapsed on them, pinning them beneath huge blocks of ice and snow. Their mothers made a desperate 911 call on a cellphone.

McCracken knew immediately the call was serious, she said, and she was still on the line when she saw aerial views from newscasts showing how bad the collapse was. She focused on keeping Joni Corbett and Chrissy Gelmini, who also each had their daughters with them, on the phone until rescuers arrived.

"You just have an incredible voice," Gelmini told McCracken at the ceremony. "It was just very, very reassuring. That was one of the first things that told me everything was going to be OK."

Both boys broke their backs, and suffered other injuries. Alessandro still doesn't have full mobility in his left hand, and Alec's ankle bothers him.

But Alec, a senior at Seattle's Bishop Blanchet High School, started playing lacrosse last week with the school team. He plans to hike again, though the thought makes him a little nervous, he said.

But he said he will be smarter about it, to his mom's relief. Before the accident, Alec would go off on his own for day hikes or overnights, Joni Corbett said. But now he understands the importance of hiking with someone, of keeping a cellphone with him and letting someone know exactly where he is going, she said.

"It's one of those life experiences with a lot of lessons," Joni Corbett said.

Chrissy Gelmini said the family will keep commemorating the date Alessandro was rescued.

"I say Aug. 21 is his rebirth," she said. "That's when he came back to life for us."

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com