'Modern Family' Star Julie Bowen Helps Rescue Hiker Who Fainted At Utah Park

A hiker from New Jersey was on her way to see the Delicate Arch in Utah when she felt something amiss. Minnie John felt lightheaded and dehydrated after making it to the top. She sat on a rock to rest and before she knew it, she fell face forward to the ground. Among those who rushed to her aid was actress Julie Bowen from Modern Family and her sister, Dr Annie Luetkemeyer. With electrolytes, medicines and pretzels, Dr Luetkemeyer, who is an infectious disease specialist, tended to Ms John right away.

The grateful hiker shared the incident in a three-part Facebook post, thanking the actress and her sister for their kind gesture.

Writing about the incident, Ms John said that she was accompanied by her husband Shaji, and their son, Brandon, at the Arches National Park on August 2.  The family was hiking, like many others, to witness the largest free-standing arch-- at 46 feet high and 32 feet wide-- in the national park.  

However, once she made it to the top, she could not go on any further. “I was light-headed, felt like I was going to faint so I sat down on the rock…Shaji and Brandon insisted they stay with me but I could not stand anymore,” she explained. “All I remember is sitting there with my head in my hands secure on the rock.” 

Though Ms John does not recount falling over, she said that the next thing she heard was a “familiar voice” asking her questions. “I wondered if I might be watching TV…They said I would be fine and they were cleaning my face and bandaging me up. I heard that familiar voice saying I am going to be ok, a doctor is cleaning me up.”

“After so many more questions and sticking gooey things in my mouth, giving me electrolytes, they lifted me up as I opened my eyes and set me back on that rock,” Ms John added. 

Speaking about Ms Bowen, she said, “I asked her again if I knew her or if she was famous and the doctor said yes.” Ms Bowen even took her hair tie off and shook her hair for Ms John to help her get a better look. “Her sister, the doctor, asked me to guess and I told her I just hit my head, I can't remember. She said smiling “Modern Family” and I said of course. I told her she was so beautiful.”

The duo then explained to Miss John that they had seen her fall forward. Sharing pictures with the two, Ms John said, “They had everything to clean up my wounds and set me up...They used my phone in my purse to call Brandon…Some ran ahead to find them...And those celebrities are awesome human beings too... Love you, Julie and Annie…” 

"I knew I'd never meet them again but I appreciated and admired the human part of what they did -- selfless, not selfish," Ms John was quoted by CNN as saying. "We tend to forget the daily kindnesses we encounter. We're blind to everything around us and don't imagine that people will be so good, kind and caring."

Ms John has received five stitches for her injuries and a fractured nose, the report added. Julie Bowen, meanwhile, is best known for her role as Claire Dunphy on Modern Family. She has also appeared in shows such as ER, Boston Legal and Lost.