Woman becomes stuck at Tumalo Falls while hiking off-trail

Published 12:00 am Monday, July 2, 2018

A Jacksonville woman who left a marked trail at Tumalo Falls on Saturday afternoon fell down an embankment, became stuck and had to be rescued.

At about 3 p.m. Saturday, a man called Deschutes County 911 to report that a woman had fallen down a steep slope at Tumalo Falls and was unable to descend farther or climb back out, according to a sheriff’s office press release. Though the woman was believed to be conscious, no one present at the time could determine the extent of her injuries given her location.

A Deschutes County deputy arrived and, with the help of a bystander, lowered a rope to the woman’s location. Elizabeth Wright, 57, was stuck near the bottom of the falls between a side trail and the creek, and the rope prevented her from falling the remaining 20 feet until more help could arrive.

Shortly thereafter, more than a dozen search and rescue personnel from the sheriff’s office arrived. Some of them lowered themselves to Wright’s location and hoisted her back to the trail, where they determined she had suffered minor injuries during the fall. Wright left the scene with a family member.

According to the sheriff’s office, Wright and her group had left the marked trail and taken a side trail blocked by multiple downed trees. Wright fell while trying to navigate a narrow section of unmarked trail.

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