An 18-year-old man has died after he fell over a 50-foot waterfall in Washington.
Witnesses said the victim slipped while walking across the rocks at the top of Sol Duc Falls in Olympic National Park on Sunday, June 8, the National Park Service (NPS) said in a statement.
The victim was said to have resurfaced at the bottom of the falls before becoming submerged again, according to park officials.
The next day, a park ranger “located a completely submerged body pinned between the first and second falls.” The body is believed to belong to the young man who fell.
Swiftwater and rope rescue crews began their search of the area “immediately after the man disappeared,” and “thermal imaging was used to search the water,” park officials said.
Meanwhile, they added, “a ground team searched the riverbanks upstream from the trailhead.”
The Sol Duc Falls area was temporarily closed as crews recovered the body. The victim’s name has not been released.
Multiple agencies assisted with the search and recovery efforts, including Forks Ambulance, Forks Swiftwater, Olympic Ambulance, Clallam County Fire District 2, the Port Townsend and Sequim Police Departments, and the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, park officials said.
Multiple factors complicated the search, according to park officials, including “cliffs covered in algae and moss” on both sides of the target area as well as “a second waterfall, whirlpool, and additional hazards” downstream.
They also cited “significantly high river flows” in the area due to “recent high temperatures and rapid snowmelt in the upper Sol Duc drainage,” and “a narrow canyon” that served as “a constriction point beneath the main falls.”
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The Sol Duc Valley is located in the northwest portion of Olympic National Park, just 40 minutes west of Port Angeles, according to the NPS’ website.
The hike to the Sol Duc Falls, where the incident occurred, is about 0.8 miles long, according to the Washington Trails Association.
“Depending on water volume, Sol Duc Falls splits into as many as four channels as it cascades 48 feet into a narrow, rocky canyon,” the association’s website states. “There are various viewpoints of the waterfall, both upstream and down—as well as on the bridge that crosses the river.”
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