DURANGO (July 24, 2009)--A dozen Boy Scouts from Houston helped carry their adult leader to safety after he became ill in the Colorado backcountry, officials in Colorado said.

La Plata County emergency management director Butch Knowlton said Don Leever, 58, came down with an unspecified illness Monday while backpacking with the Scouts in the Weminuche Wilderness in southwestern Colorado.

By Thursday Leever was too ill to walk, so the boys made a stretcher and carried him.

Knowlton said that after about three-quarters of a mile, they met a ranger who radioed for help.

A helicopter took Leever to Mercy Medical Center in Durango, where he was listed in fair condition Thursday.

County officials say they don't know the nature of Leever's illness.

Hospital spokesman David Bruzzese says Leever is in fair condition, but can't discuss the patient further.