Wash. Responders Save Man Who Went Over Waterfall
Oct. 12--Rescuers brought a 19-year-old kayaker to safety Wednesday afternoon after he plunged over a 60-foot waterfall and suffered a possible back injury.
The man was injured in the East Fork of the Lewis River, in the Lower Falls area of Gifford Pinchot National Forest, along Forest Service Road 90, officials said.
Reports of the fall came in around 11:05 a.m., according to emergency dispatch logs.
Crews were still on their way to the scene around 11:30 a.m., said Ben Peeler, chief of Yacolt-based North Country EMS and Fire District 13. Eleven members of North Country's all volunteer Volcano Rescue Team used rope systems to bring him up to an ambulance.
The kayaker was reportedly near the Lower Falls campground, Skamania County Undersheriff Dave Cox said.
His name is Joseph Grudger, a resident of Ellijay, Ga., a sheriff's spokeswoman said. He was listed in satisfactory condition late Wednesday afternoon at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center.
More information will be released when it is available.
John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.
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