Hiker slides off cliff at Palouse Falls, presumed dead
STATE PARKS -- Palouse Falls State Park staff has posted signs warning of the danger in getting too close to steep cliffs around the iconic waterfalls, but it didn't help in the case of a man who slipped and fell on Monday.
I fear that years of freedom to roam around this great geological feature will be challenged by this preventable tragedy as reported on the S-R website today:
A 25-year-old man is missing and presumed dead after he fell from a cliff above Palouse Falls on Monday afternoon.
Emergency crews were called to Palouse Falls State Park about 2:30 p.m. A witness said he saw a young woman climbing up the rocks, screaming that her boyfriend had fallen.
The girlfriend told investigators that she and her boyfriend were hiking and taking pictures when he lost his footing and fell, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The man fell into the Palouse River, just above the falls.
Rescuers searched for several hours but didn’t find a body, the sheriff’s office said. Crews are expected to return Tuesday.
Sheriff’s deputies and personnel from Columbia Basin Dive Rescue, Pasco Fire, Kahlotus Fire and Pasco Fire responded to the call.
Washington State Parks has been concerned about the unmarked trails at the falls in recent years.
Temporary fencing was put up in late 2015 to keep people off potentially dangerous trails at the state park, which is 20 miles east of Kahlotus.
Tails were reopened in 2016, but hikers were warned to use them at their own risk.
Parks staff became very concerned this winter when Spokane climber Jess Roskelley tested the limits of ice climbing near the 185-foot waterfall.
Skilled adventurers handle risk more thoughtfully than the general public.
But should the public's failure to be careful govern our sense of freedom at natural features?
