CAMDEN — The woman Camden First Aid rescued after she fell approximately 60 feet while belaying down a cliff near Barrett's Cove in Camden Oct. 2 was transported overnight from Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

Maria Millard, 28, of Belfast, was climbing with friends when she fell from the popular rock-climbing cliff along Route 52 that overlooks Megunticook Lake. The cliff is located southeast of Maiden's Cliff, a popular hiking trail accessible by a parking lot off Route 52 next to the woods trail to access Barrett's Cove Cliff. The accident was reported around 4:10 p.m., Oct. 2.

William Bentley, an experienced mountain climber with Camden First Aid Association, ascended the trail first for an approximately 15-minute hike to where Millard was laying on rocks, and assessed the situation. A team of 10, including six CFAA technical rescue personnel, a few experienced climbers and Fire Chief Chris Farley and firefighter Cheyne Hansen, subsequently assembled and climbed up to the spot where Millard came to rest after her fall.

"The level of difficulty in this rescue was medium," said Bentley. "We didn't need to use ropes, but put her into a litter and had enough people there to form a caterpillar line with six people at a time holding the litter and passing it to the next six as they moved ahead on the trail into position."

Bentley said the caterpillar line provided for a smoother ride for Millard, and the ability for the litter and people to easily move over and around boulders.

Bentley said that Millard and a group were climbing Barrett's Cove Cliff on an area on the left side of the Slab called Old Stud.

Millard was the lead climber of the group and after climbing about 60 feet, clearing the route and setting a line at the top for the others to use, she was preparing to head back down.

"She was rappelling down and due to operator error, she did not set the rappel correctly," said Bentley. "So when she leaned back she just free-fell."

One of the three friends who was climbing with her, and waiting on the ledge below, saw her fall and heard her scream. Millard landed on the ledge next to her friends, and then bounced off the ledge and fell another 10 feet below them. Friends said she lost conciousness but quickly came to, and remained conscious during her transport off the mountain.

The top of Barretts Cove Cliff is at 220 feet; where Millard had climbed to was about 60 or 70 feet, said Bentley. It was also 70 degrees steep.

"When she fell, she hit a tree on the way down and that probably saved her life by breaking her fall," said Bentley.

That rescue group carried in a Stokes litter, climbing ropes and pain medication. While they were preparing the woman for transport, at least six more trained rescue climbers and friends went up the roadside trail to assist in bringing her down. At around 5:20, the large contingent emerged from the wooded trail and placed the litter onto an ambulance gurney.

Millard suffered a broken ankle, broken wrist, dislocated shoulder and fractured scapula. She was transported to Portland by CFAA, with Bentley accompanying her on the trip.

At the scene, Camden First Aid thanked the technical climbers and others who arrived to help take her safely down off the mountain.