MULTNOMAH FALLS, Ore. — A woman hiking near Multnomah Falls in Oregon died Friday after falling about 100 feet and suffering a head injury, authorities said.
The woman, who was not identified, was hiking with a group of friends at about 1:15 p.m. PDT when she fell near Wiesendanger Falls in the Columbia River Gorge, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Wiesendanger Falls is upstream from Multnomah Falls, according to The Oregonian.
“It’s terribly devastating,” Stephanie Weinstein, a visitor at Multnomah Falls, told KPTV.
Hiker at Multnomah Falls tumbles 100 feet to death https://t.co/k3HCsChYZi
— The Oregonian (@Oregonian) August 19, 2022
It was unclear what caused the woman to fall, sheriff’s office spokesperson Chris Liedle told The Oregonian.
Four firefighters found the woman about 1.3 miles up the Multnomah Falls-Larch Mountain Trail, according to the newspaper.
Corbett Fire Chief Rick Wunsch said in a written statement to The Associated Press that the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The hiker’s name will be announced after next-of-kin notification, the sheriff’s office said.
The Columbia River Gorge is a popular tourist destination, stretching about 80 miles in length and up to 4,000 feet deep, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Multnomah Falls, the most visited natural recreation site in the Pacific Northwest, is located within the gorge area, CNN reported.
It has more than 2 million visitors annually, the U.S. Forest Service said.
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