In the movies, people go over waterfalls all the time. Just look at Indiana Jones — he went over three in a row. Likewise, Without A Paddle turned the whole thing into a gag. But real life often sees grave results when it comes to waterfalls. You're not only battling the jolt of gravity, but you also have to contend with sharp rocks at the bottom as well as drowning. If you do survive, it's by some miracle.
Sadly, there were no miracles for one 26-year-old Pennsylvania. The hiker plunged to her death during a recent visit to Glacier National Park in Montana. The hiker had the misfortune of falling into a roaring waterfall and then to her death. Officials ruled that she drowned.
The unidentified woman reportedly fell into the river above St. Mary Falls on Sunday. It's a 35-foot-high waterfall making for a pretty steep drop. The waterfall remains one of the most popular attractions at the park. She reportedly hiked to the natural wonder, the National Park Service said in a news release.
According to witnesses, the woman ended up washing over the falls. Due to the water pressure from the waterfall, she became trapped underwater for several minutes. Finally, someone managed to help her out. From there, they began to administer CPR on her until help could arrive.
Hiker Goes Over Falls
According to park dispatch, multiple 911 calls came to their agency. The drowning happened at 5:20 p.m., but park rangers couldn't make it until 5:45 p.m. Likewise, an ALERT helicopter landed in the area at 6:20 p.m. However, it was too late to save the hiker. She never woke back up and passed away.
Still, emergency responders tried to give her lifesaving measures until 7 p.m. That's when they announced that the hiker had died. The ALERT helicopter flew the woman's body to a nearby ranger station. A medical examiner took the body for an autopsy to rule the exact cause of death.
"Park staff would like to thank Glacier County, ALERT, Babb Ambulance and US Border Patrol for this support, along with numerous bystanders for their immediate assistance," the national park service said in a statement. "The park extends their deepest condolences to family and friends of the woman and asks that the public respect their privacy."
Currently, authorities are investigating the death of the woman. They announced plans to notify her family.
