Powell County search and rescue chief built Kentucky’s first air rescue program for Red River Gorge missions

Powell County search and rescue chief Jeremy Urekew has been credited with building Kentucky’s first air rescue program from the ground up, a development aimed at improving how rescue teams respond when emergencies occur in the Red River Gorge and surrounding backcountry areas. The program was created to help address the risks that can arise when hikers, adventurers, and other visitors find themselves in trouble far from conventional road access.

Red River Gorge tourism brings large numbers of visitors to the area, with LEX18 reporting that more than half a million people visit each year. While many trips involve outdoor recreation, that volume also increases the number of calls that can involve lost hikers, injuries, or other emergencies that require coordination and rapid, organized response.

According to LEX18, Urekew is one of the people who could be called when an excursion turns dangerous and authorities need specialized support to locate and recover people. The report frames the air rescue program as a practical extension of search and rescue efforts, designed to speed up locating patients and bringing trained responders to scenes where ground-only efforts may be slower or more dangerous.

LEX18 also describes Urekew’s background in search and rescue leadership in Powell County and highlights the “from the ground up” aspect of the air rescue program, emphasizing that it was not simply added as an afterthought but built as a coordinated capability. The coverage describes the role of organizing, planning, and operationalizing air-focused rescue work to fit the realities of the gorge region.

The expansion of air rescue capacity has public safety implications for a region where outdoor activity is a core draw and where rescue outcomes can depend on how quickly teams can reach and stabilize victims. In places with steep terrain, limited visibility, and changing weather, the ability to conduct coordinated aerial searches can reduce the time between an incident and a response.

Looking ahead, the LEX18 report positions Urekew and Powell County’s search and rescue leadership as key figures in sustaining and deploying the program as visitor numbers and outdoor activity continue. With the Red River Gorge remaining a high-traffic destination, maintaining readiness and ensuring the program works smoothly with other local emergency services are likely to remain central operational priorities.

The LEX18 coverage does not detail the program’s specific operational parameters or budget, but it identifies the air rescue effort as a milestone in Kentucky’s emergency response capabilities for wilderness incidents. For families and communities affected by rescues, the practical effect is improved access to an additional layer of response capacity during time-sensitive emergencies.