To your point … I just saw this on the NPS Morning Report:
Grand Canyon National Park (AZ)
Visitor Dies In Seventy Foot Fall
Shortly before sunset on August 28th, park dispatch received a satellite phone call from a commercial river trip reporting that a 62-year-old man who was part of the group had taken a 70-foot fall while hiking in Stone Creek Canyon, a side canyon of the Colorado River that is a popular day hiking destination for river travelers. He was reported to have sustained skull and leg fractures. ICS was put into effect and a rescue operation begun. The park’s helicopter was in the area, returning from an interagency search mission in Havasu Creek, and was diverted to the scene. Due to limited daylight, the helicopter crew was only able to insert a Coconino County Search and Rescue team member who also works as a flight medic for a local air ambulance. Meanwhile, Arizona Department of Public Safety’s Air Rescue helicopter from Kingman was launched to make a night landing to provide additional medical and evacuation personnel. The DPS crew, which flies with night vision goggles, landed at Stone Creek but was unable to reach the victim due to darkness and hazardous terrain. They were notified that the flight medic on scene had reached the man and determined that the fall had been fatal. On the morning of August 29th, recovery operations were begun. A human radio relay was positioned on a canyon rim near the incident location and park staff were inserted by helicopter for recovery, investigation, and helicopter operations. A critical incident stress counselor from the Whale Foundation, which provides access to mental and physical healthcare and support services to the professional river guide community, was also inserted to remain with the river trip. The victim was extracted from the canyon in a helicopter long line operation and flown to the South Rim helibase for transfer to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office. [Submitted by Pete Fonken, Park Ranger]
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