According to authorities, a father of five from Oregon died after falling off the popular Multnomah Falls trail outside of Portland.
According to Multnomah County Sheriff’s Deputy John Plock, the unidentified Beaverton father fell approximately 150 feet near a switchback on the trail on Saturday afternoon.
Plock stated, “The edge is quite steep, and that’s where he fell.”
The father had five children between elementary and high school age who were in the area at the time of the incident, according to the police.
“Mother, father, and five children were enjoying a beautiful day at Multnomah Falls when a tragic accident occurred,” Plock told KPTV. “At one point along the trail, the father slipped and fell down an embankment.”
What caused the father to fall is unclear at first glance.
Plock also told KPTV that a drone was used to locate the father, but a search team located him on the ground. He was pronounced dead at the site 45 minutes after the search began.
Plock stated, “They were unable to see anything from the air.” Our on-the-ground deputies were able to locate him.
Before the man was pronounced dead, both the Corbett Fire District and the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office responded to the site.
According to the U.S. Forest Service, the 620-foot-tall Multnomah Falls is the highest waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge and a popular tourism destination.
The Forest Service reports that Multnomah Falls is the most visited natural recreation site in the Pacific Northwest, with over 2 million people stopping by annually to take in the scenery. “Fed by Larch Mountain’s underground springs, the flow over the falls fluctuates, but is typically greatest in the winter and spring. This is also one of the finest locations in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area for flood-exposed geology studies.”
According to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, 62-year-old Jessica Warejoncas of Minnesota perished in August after suffering “a head injury after falling near Wiesendanger Falls in the Columbia River Gorge.”
“The woman was hiking on the Multnomah Falls-Larch Mountain Trail, #441, with a group of companions. “It is estimated that the hiker fell roughly 100 feet,” the report stated at the time.
