One of the children heard screaming after the fall and alerted the other parent, who contacted 911
Credit: Grand County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue/Facebook
NEED TO KNOW
- A parent fell 70 feet while hiking near Cummings Arch in Moab, Utah during a family’s spring break visit
- Rescuers used a helicopter and technical rope systems to carry out the three-hour rescue in a challenging terrain
- The injured parent was flown to a trauma center in critical condition
A hiking trip on a family of four's spring break ended in a "critical" rescue after a parent fell from a cliff in Utah.
The incident took place on Friday, April 10, when two parents and their two children were visiting Pritchett Canyon in Moab, Utah, according to a Monday, April 13, statement on social media from the Grand County Sheriff's Search and Rescue.
The family parked their two motorcycles and side-by-side vehicle near the canyon, then hiked to a higher point in hopes of getting a better view of Cummings Arch, known for its unique “pothole” formation.
During the hike, the family split up, with one parent and child walking faster than the other two, rescuers said.
Later on, one of the parents who was trailing behind ended up too close to the cliff’s edge and fell, the search and rescue team said. No family member saw the parent’s fall, but one of the children heard the screams and rushed to alert the other parent, rescuers said.
Officers didn’t specify what led to the fall.
Once the other parent was notified, they were able to get help through satellite on their phone, sending a text to 911. Search and rescue personnel then deployed an Intermountain 20 helicopter to save the fallen individual.
Credit: Grand County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue/Facebook
From the air, search and rescue team members determined they’d have to climb up a slanted rocky channel to reach the parent, who had fallen an estimated 70 to 80 feet before tumbling farther down the sandstone.
Once the helicopter made contact, it was able to land within 150 yards from the parent, rescuers said.
After bringing in additional personnel and technical rope to assist with the rescue mission, officials drilled holes in the rock to create an anchoring system.
The injured parent was placed in a rescue litter and loaded onto a medical grade helicopter, which flew them to a local trauma center, rescuers said.
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The patient was in critical condition as of Monday, April 13.
Following the three-hour rescue, search and rescue team members advised hikers to be cautious near the cliffs in Moab, which they said can be “deceptive” by sloping gently before abruptly turning into a sheer vertical cliff.
The Grand County Sheriff's Search and Rescue did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for additional comment on Wednesday, April 15.
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