Rapid snowmelt slows effort to find 18-year-old who fell over 50-foot Washington waterfall at national park
Park officials stated that current water conditions have halted the search efforts due to high river flows from recent high temperatures and rapid snowmelt.
FILE – Olympic National Park: Miles of hikeable coastline
David Quinlan, Pacific Northwest Program Manager for Wild Land Trekking, discusses how to prepare for a hike and what the trails of Olympic National Park have to offer.
PORT ANGELES, Wash. – Sol Duc Falls in Washington state has been temporarily closed after an 18-year-old man fell over the 50-foot waterfall Sunday.
According to officials at Olympic National Park Service (NPS), the park’s swift water and rope rescue teams immediately searched for the victim after he fell.
"According to witnesses, the young man was walking across the rocks at the top of the falls when he slipped, resurfaced at the bottom of the waterfall, then submerged into the water again," said an official statement from the NPS.
Sol Duc Falls area temporarily closed to recover the body of an 18-year-old man.
(National Park Service)
Search and rescue teams have been working to recover the victim's body. Park officials stated that current water conditions have halted the search efforts due to high river flows from recent high temperatures and rapid snowmelt. Factors such as algae-covered rocks and moss are creating dangerous conditions to navigate the canyon beneath the falls.
The team will resume search operations as soon as the river conditions allow for a safe operation.