In what has to be one of the saddest stories I've heard in a long time -- an 18-year-old woman fell and plummeted 400 feet to her death while she was posing for a picture on a rocky ledge at Yellowstone National Park. She was apparently out hiking on the North Rim Trail of the Grand Canyon with friends when she decided to venture off the beaten path to have her picture taken at a spot known as "Inspiration Point." As she sat down on the edge of the 1,500 foot deep canyon, the rocks gave way and there was nothing anyone could do to save her.
And what makes this story even more devastating is that she was planning on spending her entire summer at Yellowstone working with a concessions company -- and the accident happened on her very first day on the job.
My heart absolutely sunk when I heard about what happened to this poor girl, because I can't even begin to fathom what must have been going through her mind during her last final seconds. She had to have realized she was about to lose her life and was powerless to stop herself from falling.
And what makes the accident so much harder to stomach is the excitement she must have been feeling after kicking off her summer working at one of the most beautiful parks in the world. Being that she was only 18, she had a whole life of adventures ahead of her. To have them taken away simply because she wanted to have a photograph to commemorate her journey is just nothing short of tragic.
My condolences go out to her family, because I can't think of anything more horrifying as the parent of a teenager than to finally cut the cord & let your daughter out into the world -- only to have the unthinkable happen. As much as all parents want to keep their kids safe -- there's also a point where you have to let go and allow them to find their own way in life. Perhaps her family can find some peace in the fact that their daughter was chasing her dreams and living her life to fullest -- even though her time was cut short in such a terrible way.
My thoughts and prayers are definitely with them as they try and come to terms with their unimaginable loss.
What words of sympathy would you offer to this family?
Image via Redeo/Flickr
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Comments 58
My heart goes out to the family. I judge her not. We all make mistakes but tragically this one ended her life. I cannot imagine the pain they must be in or the sudden shock.they are enduring.
I can't even imagine what her last moments were going through in her head...just awful..my stomach is in knots thinking about it. Prayers for her family, the people who were her when it happened, and her friends, etc.
Tragic, yes..I can't even IMAGINE what that girls parent's are going through..but TOTALLY preventable. Ah, the naivete of youth....
We vacation at Garner State Park in Texas almost every year, and when my daughter was six, my husband to her to the top of Baldy, a popular mountain in the park, just the two of them. When they got to the top, as is the custom, she signed her name on a rock with a sharpie, put it on the pile, and went to pose for the picture at the "edge' of the cliff overlooking the park. (The edge was a good ten feet from the 'real' edge.)
Anyway, when she walked, and turned to pose, she stumbled. My husband like to have had a heart attack...he said he knew if our daughter went over the side, he'd jump right after her, because he knew he'd end up dead one way or another.
I agree with everyone on here who says while it's tragic it's preventable. I don't have any words of sympathy for the parents, perhaps they should've taught their daughter to read or that National Parks are not theme parks and there is a reason that signs and railings are posted to keep you from going out of bounds. It's irresponsible behaviour like this that ruins things for the rest of us responsible human beings.
I agree butterflyfreak. Very sad that she died, but risks are exactly that--risks.
Everyone is talking about how she should have stayed on the path. Yeah, she should have but as someone who has worked in Yellowstone, not many people stay on the path, especially at Inspiration Point. And in fact I watched a bear charge at a family having a picnic in front of the employee housing, so no place is safe. Let us just keep her and her family in our prayers.
it is the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone National Park. There is this and then there is the Grand Canyon in Arizona.