Member of a Private Rafting Group Reported to have Suffered Fatal Fall

Date: July 19, 2016
Contact: Dan Johnson, [phone]

This press release has been updated with the identity of the victim.

Dinosaur, Colorado –National Park Service Rangers and an investigator from the Moffat County Sheriff's Office have recovered the body of a victim of a reported falling fatality at the Wade and Curtis River Campsite on the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument.

At approximately 11:41 am on Tuesday, July 19, 2016, monument staff received notification from a member of a private rafting trip that a member of their group had fallen sometime during the night off an approximately 120 foot cliff. Marolyn E Sabala, a 72 year old female from Portland, Oregon died as a result of injuries sustained during the fall. 

 According to the reporting party, the group launched on the Green River on Monday, July 18, 2016 from Gates of Lodore. They rafted the 2.5 miles before setting up camp for the night at the river campsite. Sometime during the night or early morning, the victim is believed to have climbed a slope to the west of the campsite and then fell off the cliff. The victim was found Tuesday morning. A member of the trip rowed the 2.5 miles upriver to report the fatality. Cell phone reception is not available in this area and satellite phone reception may not be reliable. 

The recovery team arrived back to Gates of Lodore at approximately 7:40 pm on Tuesday, July 19, after recovering the victim.