NPS Photo by Shannon Miller

Grand Canyon National Park search and rescue personnel prepare to lift their patient onto the rim.

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Date: June 4, 2009
Contact: Shannan Marcak, 928-638-7958

Grand Canyon, Ariz. – Late this afternoon, park rangers rescued a 38 year old woman who had fallen approximately 50 feet near a popular view point in Grand Canyon National Park.

At about 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 4, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received two separate 9-1-1 calls from park visitors who reported seeing a woman slip and fall over the edge at Mather Point.  Upon arriving at the scene, park rangers found the woman about ¼  mile west of Mather Point.  She was approximately 50 feet below the rim.

Rescue personnel rappelled down to the woman and secured her so that they could assess her injuries.  Once she was stable enough to move, the woman was packaged in a litter, and park staff used a rope haul system to pull her up to the rim.  She was back on the rim by 6:30 p.m.

The woman was transported by Classic Lifeguard Aeromedical Serviceto the Flagstaff Medical Center where she is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The National Park Service encourages all visitors to enjoy Grand Canyon’s spectacular views from the safety of the paved paths and developed overlooks, and to always use extreme caution when hiking near or approaching the edge.

-NPS-