A 20-year-old hiker from Illinois who had been bitten by what was believed to be a copperhead snake on the Appalachian Trail in southern Greene County was rescued Thursday night by local emergency personnel.

Robert Perishing, a Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Services supervisor, identified the snake-bitten hiker as Alex Rieger, 20, of Lake Zurich, Ill.

Rieger had been flown to the Johnson City Medical Center late Thursday night after being brought down the mountain by EMS personnel and volunteers from the Greeneville Emergency & Rescue Squad.

Rieger was listed in fair condition at JCMC this morning, according to a nursing supervisor.

Kevin Ayers, a Greene County 911 dispatcher, said 911 received a cell phone call about 6:45 p.m. Thursday reporting that the youth had been bitten by a snake that was believed to be a poisonous copperhead.

The initial call indicated that the injured man was at the Spring Mountain Shelter on the Appalachian Trail in southern Greene County and was too ill to make his way down the mountain, Ayers said. Other hikers were also at the shelter.

Response One Officer Rex Johnson, who is an Emergency Medical Technician based at the South Greene Volunteer Fire Department, was dispatched to the scene along with units of the Greeneville Emergency & Rescue Squad and Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Services who were also sent to the injured hiker's aid, Ayers said.

Officer Johnson said this morning that he drove to the Hurricane Gap area and began hiking up the mountain toward the snake-bite victim.

Johnson estimated that he reached the victim and his sister, whose name he did not obtain, after hiking about 1.5 miles up the mountain. Johnson said he began initial medical treatment about 8:10 p.m.

The victim, Johnson said, had been bitten on the left hand by a snake near the Spring Mountain Shelter on the Appalachian trail while searching for firewood.

Johnson said Rieger and his sister had left Hot Springs, N.C., earlier in the week to hike a portion of the Appalachian Trial.

Rescue Squad volunteers and EMS personnel followed Johnson up the mountain with all-terrain vehicles, Johnson said.

At about 8:45 p.m., meanwhile, EMS Paramedic Adam Copas and EMT Ricky Parker reported to 911 by radio that that they had reached the patient aboard a Rescue Squad all-terrain vehicle.

A short time later, they told 911 via radio to launch a Wings Air Rescue helicopter to a landing zone that had been set up in a field by Rescue Squad personnel in the Hurricane Gap area.

Shortly after 9 p.m., the Wings helicopter pilot reported that he was over the landing zone as darkness was closing in on the area.

This morning, EMS Supervisor Perishing said EMS personnel and Rescue Squad volunteers brought Rieger down the mountain aboard an all-terrain vehicle and placed him aboard an EMS ambulance on Hurricane Gap Road.

The ambulance took Rieger to the landing zone in field about 9:30 p.m. where he was placed aboard the helicopter to be flown to the Johnson City Medical Center, Perishing said.

At about 9:15 p.m. Thursday, meanwhile, Rescue Squad Captain David Franklin called 911 via radio to request that all available manpower be sent to the scene along with chainsaws and equipment to retrieve an overturned six-wheeled all-terrain vehicle.

No one was injured when the ATV overturned, according to EMS personnel.

Rescue Squad volunteers righted the overturned vehicle and made their way off the mountain by about 10:30 p.m., radio transmissions indicated.

Response One Officer Johnson said he drove Rieger's sister back to Hot Springs, N.C., so she could retrieve her car and drive to Johnson City Medical Center to be with her brother.