3 Hikers Swept Over Falls at Yosemite National Park Believed to Be Dead

Authorities believe the three hikers who fell 300 feet from a popular waterfall at Yosemite National Park Tuesday are dead.

Authorities had been searching for the hikers who reportedly climbed a safety fence to pose for pictures next to the falls.

Witnesses of the incident at Vernal Fall, which has a 317-foot drop, say it occurred at 1:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday.

The visitors were identified Wednesday as 22-year-old Hormiz David of Modesto, 27-year-old Ninos Yacoub of Turlock, and 21-year-old Ramina Badal of Modesto. Authorities continue to search for their bodies.

"Other visitors were pleading with them to come out of the water," Scott Gediman, a park spokesman told the Fresno Bee. "One of them slipped, and there was a chain-reaction as the other two tried to save the person who slipped."

A man and a woman crossed a metal barricade above the 317-foot Vernal Fall on Tuesday, making their way over slick granite to a rock in the middle of the swift Merced River.

The woman slipped. The man reached for her and fell in. Another woman in their group of about 10 tried to help but fell into the water as well. Other hikers, including several children in their group, could only watch as the rushing water swept all three over the edge.

The couple who were on the rock hugged each other tightly as they disappeared.

"Everyone was screaming," witness Jake Bibee said. "People were praying. What I will take away with me forever is the look on that grown man's face as he was floating down that river knowing he was going to die and nobody could help them."

Rangers immediately closed the Mist Trail, a popular hike with tourists that leads to the waterfall, following the incident.

Park officials often close areas when they feel a body might be recovered. Visitors were traumatized in May when a hiker slipped and fell into the Merced River. His body snagged on a rock and rescuers were not able to reach it for hours.

Record snowfall has created spectacular waterfalls in the park, but it's a treacherous beauty. Visitors often underestimate the force of water, and the mist from waterfalls creates slippery conditions on trails.

At least eight people have died in the park this year, Cobb said. Two men died after being swept off a bridge near the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in June. One man who disappeared while hiking near Yosemite Falls with his church group is still missing.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2...emite-national-park/
http://www.cbsnews.com/stor...l/main20080886.shtml

As pitiful as this may sound, I believe we have Darwin award winners here. My lord, how stupid do you have to be to put yourself, family and friends in danger for a stupid picture. I've risked my life mulitple times but, it was always mission related and not for kicks. My sincerest condolences go out to their families. I could go on but, it would serve no purpose. Stupid, just plain stupid. And Sad.

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Ron

Darwin came through. There was a story about a beautiful water falls/swimming hole in Hawaii and several people have been injured and some have died, jumping into the water, rocks from the falls overlook and or rope swings. The talk was they were going to close off the falls from visitors, so that idiots don't hurt themselves. The feds just should make it illegal to enter these dangerous national parks, as some people may get hurt injured and die from their own carelessness. There are wild animals in those areas that also may attack you. Definitely not safe for idiots.

I feel bad for their families.

They should take down the barriers as people may get hurt climbing over it.

Brad

I have done lots of stuff in the wilds goofing off.
So has alot of people I know.

Maybe even some here, dispite their amnesia of their youth.

People goof off.
Almost all get away with it.
Almost.

quote Originally posted by blackrams: As pitiful as this may sound, I believe we have Darwin award winners here. My lord, how stupid do you have to be to put yourself, family and friends in danger for a stupid picture. I've risked my life mulitple times but, it was always mission related and not for kicks. My sincerest condolences go out to their families. I could go on but, it would serve no purpose. Stupid, just plain stupid. And Sad.

Yes your right and I allmost baught a book on the subject a few months ago,you know, the other end of intelegence.Sad but Im gussing that the bottom was slimey,and Im guessing they were trying to cross the river and from the pics on the news they landed on the rocky bottom of the falls.

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: I have done lots of stuff in the wilds goofing off. So has alot of people I know. Maybe even some here, dispite their amnesia of their youth. People goof off. Almost all get away with it. Almost.

I've read this mulitple times and I'm still trying to understand exactly what your point is? Being stupid is OK as long as you get away with it? We all do dumb things from time to time but, there are limits when it comes to risking one's own life or the lives of those you supposedly care about. Some of us survived our youth because we understood where the line was drawn. Obviously, these three didn't.

OK, how about a severe lack of good judgement by three idiots?

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Ron

quote Originally posted by Old Lar: Darwin came through. There was a story about a beautiful water falls/swimming hole in Hawaii and several people have been injured and some have died, jumping into the water, rocks from the falls overlook and or rope swings. The talk was they were going to close off the falls from visitors, so that idiots don't hurt themselves. The feds just should make it illegal to enter these dangerous national parks, as some people may get hurt injured and die from their own carelessness. There are wild animals in those areas that also may attack you. Definitely not safe for idiots.

http://travel.usatoday.com/...utation--/49507418/1

Popular Kauai swimming hole gets deadly reputation
By Audrey Mcavoy, Associated Press

LIHUE, Hawaii – Travel guidebooks call Kipu Falls "a glorious little hidden place" and a "swimming hole extraordinaire." But the alluring beauty of the waterfall and natural pool conceals a deadly side.

Five visitors have drowned at Kipu Falls in the past five years, including two since December. In most of the cases, the swimmers jumped off the top of the waterfall into the pool of blue-green water about 20 feet below, then were pulled to their deaths while attempting to swim to the shore. Others have suffered chest injuries, rope burns, perforated eardrums and broken and sprained ankles. A teenage girl was paralyzed after jumping there.

The deaths have given rise to speculation about whether there's a powerful whirlpool current in the swimming hole and prompted local authorities to push for greater restrictions to the site. The local tourism bureau became so alarmed by the toll that it mounted a campaign last year to push guidebooks to remove all references to the place.

It supported a bill before the Hawaii legislature that would have made writers and publishers of travel guides liable if a reader is injured or dies while trespassing on private property they have depicted. The bill died amid protests from publishers who said it violated their First Amendment rights.

The latest victim, Santhosh Heddese of Irvine, Calif., drowned on June 26. Rescue divers found the 35-year-old's body at the bottom of the pool an hour later.

The Kauai Visitors Bureau is also urging hotel concierges and tour operators to steer people away from the area.

Sue Kanoho, the agency's director, notes anyone who goes to the falls is trespassing.

Kanoho helped Heddese's widow get the couple's luggage home after he died last month. She said it was "devastating" to see another tragedy.

"I've really asked the community and the visitor industry, please, let's not send people there," Kanoho said.

The deaths have some locally questioning whether an angry "mo'o" — a Hawaiian water spirit lizard — lives in Kipu Falls.

"I kept thinking, something just held him down there. What possibly could have sucked him back down to the bottom of the pond?" said Christine Kauhi, whose 26-year-old son, Kulana Kauhi-Apao, from the Honolulu suburb of Kaneohe, drowned last December.

Kipu Falls sits in a clearing along the Huleia Stream, which pours out of the hills of southeastern Kauai into the island's biggest harbor, Nawiliwili. It's rimmed by banyan and other large trees. Most people get there by driving along a paved road that's only a few miles from downtown Lihue and some of Kauai's biggest hotels. From there, they walk about five minutes down a narrow dirt trail flanked by 6-foot-tall growths of invasive Guinea grass.

The pool and falls are on private property owned by Grove Farm, but locals have been swimming there for decades largely without problems. Residents say tourists arrived when guidebooks started mentioning it in the mid-90s. Though multiple guidebooks tout it is as "hidden," it was crowded with several dozen tourists on a recent weekday. A consistent trickle of people walked to and from the spot along the trail.

The Kauai Fire Department sent rescue crews to Kipu Falls 10 times last year, and twice so far this year.

Dr. Monty Downs, a doctor at Kauai's Wilcox hospital, said someone comes to his emergency room from Kipu Falls every few months. In recent years, they've included a 25-year-old man who suffered major chest injuries when he swung from a rope over the pool but failed to let go and slammed into the cliff. He required surgery, but survived.

Despite suspicions about mysterious forces, John Blalock, deputy chief of the Kauai Fire Department, said Kipu Falls doesn't have any strange or unusual currents. His rescue divers tell him the water is actually calm under the surface.

Locals who frequent the spot say the falls have a current, but only a downstream flow — exactly what you would expect in a river.

Instead, Blalock attributes the high number of deaths and injuries to tourists getting in over their heads. He compared travelers from big cities or the U.S. mainland going to Kipu Falls to someone born and raised in Hawaii going skiing — and deciding to take on a challenging slope.

"When you think about it, when you go on vacation, you do 'high risk, low frequency' events," Blalock said. "You do things that you don't normally do."

Kipu Falls isn't the only place tourists have encountered danger. Earlier this month, a visitor from California died after being sucked into a blowhole on Maui. Witnesses said he was frolicking in the sprays when he disappeared.

Grove Farm, a former sugar plantation that now owns a fish farm and leases farmland, is in a dilemma over Kipu Falls.

Closing it off would be an expensive undertaking for a small Kauai company that has only about a dozen employees. A fence could break and Grove Farm could be held responsible for not maintaining the barrier. If the company posts warning signs, it would be acknowledging the area is risky, exposing itself to liability.

Locals who have enjoyed the pool for years fear they would lose one of the places they love most if Grove Farm blocks access.

Downs, the emergency room doctor, said he's reluctantly concluded that's exactly what should be done.

"I've seen enough families destroyed," Downs said, "that to me the benefit of making it not be accessible outweighs the downside of taking away yet another spot that locals enjoy."

Daniel Hale, a tour boat captain who has been swimming at the falls for about a decade, is sympathetic to families who have lost loved ones. But he said the accidents shouldn't lead to closure.

"People come here on vacation and they get hurt, and it's sad, but it happens because it's not Disneyland. It doesn't cushion you," Hale said.

Kauhi, whose son died there in December, hopes something can be done to prevent more drownings. As a Native Hawaiian, she also hopes a Hawaiian priest will bless the place and the people who have passed there.

"I know if my son had a choice, if he knew, I don't think he would have gone," Kauhi said, as she tried to stifle tears. "I don't think he would have wanted to leave his family and friends behind. I'm just very sad, and I'm sure all these other families are grieving just like me."

quote Originally posted by blackrams: I've read this mulitple times and I'm still trying to understand exactly what your point is? Being stupid is OK as long as you get away with it? We all do dumb things from time to time but, there are limits when it comes to risking one's own life or the lives of those you supposedly care about. Some of us survived our youth because we understood where the line was drawn. Obviously, these three didn't. OK, how about a severe lack of good judgement by three idiots?

Why must everything I post here have to have some point other then exactly what I type?
I only ment what I wrote.
No secret meaning, no insinuation, no hidden agenda, no fleeting glimpses out of the corner of one's eye.

Just what was written.
And again I find it extremely silly explaining why I am defending things I didn't say.

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: Why must everything I post here have to have some point other then exactly what I type? I only ment what I wrote. No secret meaning, no insinuation, no hidden agenda, no fleeting glimpses out of the corner of one's eye. Just what was written. And again I find it extremely silly explaining why I am defending things I didn't say.

Got it A meaningless post, I think.

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Ron

quote Originally posted by blackrams: Got it A meaningless post, I think.

Well, the emoticon it was posted under might give you a clue.

[This message has been edited by Boondawg (edited 07-20-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: Well, the emoticon it was posted under might give you a clue.

Nope, not going there. Don't want you to have to explain anything, at least not for my benefit.
Edited: Forget I ever asked, back to the original topic of how idiots get themselves killed.
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Ron

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 07-20-2011).]

quote Originally posted by blackrams: Nope, not going there. Don't want you to have to explain anything, at least not for my benefit.

It was just a thought.

How does one dissect a random thought?
See what I mean.
It's the chicken/egg thing.....been done to death.

quote Originally posted by blackrams: I've read this mulitple times and I'm still trying to understand exactly what your point is? Being stupid is OK as long as you get away with it? OK, how about a severe lack of good judgement by three idiots?

Hardly a simple question.

[This message has been edited by Boondawg (edited 07-20-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Boondawg: Hardly a simple question.

Ya think? I think not.

I say what I mean and mean what I say. Works for me, never did like puzzles.

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Ron

quote Originally posted by blackrams: Ya think? I think not. I say what I mean and mean what I say. Works for me, never did like puzzles.

Fair enough...........I think.

I had read in a magazine that on average 6 people fall off the edge of the Grand Canyon each year.

They really need to put those warning signs in spanish!

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ARCHIES JUNK IS FASTER THAN SHAUNNA'S JUNK
12.3 is faster than a 13.2

quote Originally posted by James Bond 007: I had read in a magazine that on average 6 people fall off the edge of the Grand Canyon each year.

They should just fill that thing in so people don't accidentally fall off a 4,000 ft edge. (sarcasm intended. Not to you, James Bond, to the 6 people per year)

How dumb can a person be? The woman crossed metal barricade-slips, a friend reaches for her-he slips, and another third person tries too. Next, a guy standing at the edge see's one of the person's eyeballs as he goes over the fall. I mean really, these people are trying very hard to kill themselves in Yosemite. The three hiker’s ages are 21, 22, & 27. They must be watching too much Road Runner/Wild Coyote cartoons.

[This message has been edited by madcurl (edited 07-21-2011).]

One misstep, and everyone talks about Darwin's work?
I would be willing to bet you that these were not a load of idiots out running wild. These were regular people, fueled by the want for adventure. When one guy slipped, his friends tried to help.

Honestly, if I was the first person to slip, and none of my friends reached out and tried to get me, I'd be very surprised. If you wouldn't be surprised, maybe you need new friends.

quote Originally posted by theBDub: Honestly, if I was the first person to slip, and none of my friends reached out and tried to get me, I'd be very surprised. If you wouldn't be surprised, maybe you need new friends.

If my friend decided to go beyond the guard I wouldn've quickly told him, "Okay stupid. I ain't saving you." In this tragic case-all three were college students. The article I read stated, "onlookers told them of the dangers of going over the barricade."

quote Originally posted by madcurl: If my friend decided to go beyond the guard I wouldn've quickly told him, "Okay stupid. I ain't saving you." In this tragic case-all three were college students. The article I read stated, "onlookers told them of the dangers of going over the barricade."

I would have certainly said that... but if my friend was in mortal danger, you bet I'm going to do everything I can to try and save him. No second thoughts. Maybe I'm imagining the scenario a lot different than y'all. I'm imagining them being VERY close to saving them--just a reach away--but the current was too strong and grabbed them. I guess I'd just be one of the dead... I know I would have reached for my friend.

quote Originally posted by theBDub: I would have certainly said that... but if my friend was in mortal danger, you bet I'm going to do everything I can to try and save him. No second thoughts. Maybe I'm imagining the scenario a lot different than y'all. I'm imagining them being VERY close to saving them--just a reach away--but the current was too strong and grabbed them. I guess I'd just be one of the dead... I know I would have reached for my friend.

I'm all for adventure, but standing in water with a current above a 300+ foot drop, that's more of a death wish than adventure seeking.

How far away from the ledge were they? Did they float along the current for 50 yards before the drop? Then I could maybe see going in after them if I trusted my swimming skills (I don't, for the record). But if they were just a 10 yards from the drop, no chance, their stupid behavior isn't worth my life. It would have to be someone in my immediate family to risk my life for.

quote Originally posted by theBDub: I would have certainly said that... but if my friend was in mortal danger, you bet I'm going to do everything I can to try and save him. No second thoughts. Maybe I'm imagining the scenario a lot different than y'all. I'm imagining them being VERY close to saving them--just a reach away--but the current was too strong and grabbed them. I guess I'd just be one of the dead... I know I would have reached for my friend.

All of my friends have an agreement with each other. If any one of us is in danger NOT of our making, we will do what we can to help each other. If the danger we are in is of our own making we are on our own. One of my friends wanted the second part of the agreement wrote down and signed to keep us from holding it against each other if we don't help the one that got themselves into danger. Yeah, we're a tough group.

quote Originally posted by 1988holleyformula: I'm all for adventure, but standing in water with a current above a 300+ foot drop, that's more of a death wish than adventure seeking. How far away from the ledge were they? Did they float along the current for 50 yards before the drop? Then I could maybe see going in after them if I trusted my swimming skills (I don't, for the record). But if they were just a 10 yards from the drop, no chance, their stupid behavior isn't worth my life. It would have to be someone in my immediate family to risk my life for.

That's the thing--I'm picturing a different scenario than others, I think. I'm picturing them slowly making their way across a slippery rock poking up, about 30-50 yards from the drop. When the first guy slips, he falls back and reaches for the second guy. The second guy slips just from being frightened, and reaches for the third. The third then tries to hold them on but the current takes them, while their families are all watching.

But none of us actually know, which is why I think it's a bit unfair to call the Darwin award. They could very well be really stupid... but I can picture how it went down without that as well. Stupid to go out there in the first place? Yeah.. it was. But not REALLY REALLY stupid. Just like "Oh man that's scary you shouldn't have done that."

IMO.

This reminds me of something I saw when I was visiting the Grand Canyon. A young couple was posing for photos near the edge (no guard rail). First, the guy leaned over the edge, holding onto a tree branch, while the girl took photos. Then they switched places, with the girl hanging over the edge and the guy taking photos. Then, they gave the camera to a friend, and had photos taken of her dangling over the edge, hanging onto her boyfriend.

I honestly expected to see someone die that day. But they got lucky.

The bottom line is if you put your life at risk, you stand a chance of losing it. That's just part of the game. Play the game enough, and you eventually WILL lose.

Like Eve it was the woman that slipped followed by the dude (I'd bet she had on high heel shoes too-hehe j/k). Seriously, I'm one of those guys who respect "warning" signs and for them-there were too many, "what ifs." The fast following water, the 317 foot water fall, and the mist. Heck, I wouldn't be suprised there was moss growing on the boulder she was standing on that caused her to slip.

The only safe way to rescue a person would be if there was a guy on stand-by wearing a safety harness with a rope that is properly secured. Then he could dive in and maybe save one of them, but I doubt seriously all three.

[This message has been edited by madcurl (edited 07-21-2011).]

quote Originally posted by theBDub: One misstep, and everyone talks about Darwin's work? I would be willing to bet you that these were not a load of idiots out running wild. These were regular people, fueled by the want for adventure. When one guy slipped, his friends tried to help. Honestly, if I was the first person to slip, and none of my friends reached out and tried to get me, I'd be very surprised. If you wouldn't be surprised, maybe you need new friends.

I like the way you think.

Let me put it this way, if someone I know (or don't know) decides to be so foolish as to attempt to cross over the barricade, I consider it my responsibility to try and stop them. Should (for whatever reason) I fail in that attempt, I'll be the one waving as they go over the falls. I feel pretty safe saying this because, those I call friends would never do such a stupid thing.

Should some event occur while on the correct side of the barricade, I'd do everything humanly possible to help them. The truth is, you can't fix stupid.

------------------
Ron

Humanity isn't totally lost by a few who are careless and lack common sense. Only 45 people since have died since 1864. Those are good odds.

"Despite the obvious danger, about 45 people have gone over waterfalls in Yosemite to their deaths since the park was established in 1864; 82 percent of the victims have been male and 68 percent between the ages of 11 and 29, according to the book "Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite," by Michael Ghiglieri and Charles Farabee. Almost all of the park's waterfall accidents were the result of carelessness, often while snapping a photo, they write."
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-b...L&ao=2#ixzz1SqoznWxy

Hey Brennan, if you're playing in water with a current a mere 25 feet upstream from a 317 foot fall, you're on your own buddy. That last article that madcurl posted just painted quite a different picture in my head.

quote Originally posted by 1988holleyformula: That last article that madcurl posted just painted quite a different picture in my head.

Same here.

Yosemite and the river doesn't care about no stinkin status in life.

Kent Butler, 60, a professor.

Dr. Gregory Wayne Meyer, 53, and

Richard Fox, 53, physician's assistant.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-b...L&ao=2#ixzz1SsA1cnTx

quote 1988holleyformula JUL 22, 01:57 PM Hey Brennan, if you're playing in water with a current a mere 25 feet upstream from a 317 foot fall, you're on your own buddy. That last article that madcurl posted just painted quite a different picture in my head.

Yeah they were stupid... That painted it completely differently. SWIMMING out to a rock??

quote "Other visitors were pleading with them to come out of the water," Scott Gediman, a park spokesman told the Fresno Bee. "One of them slipped, and there was a chain-reaction as the other two tried to save the person who slipped." A man and a woman crossed a metal barricade above the 317-foot Vernal Fall on Tuesday, making their way over slick granite to a rock in the middle of the swift Merced River

I read this elsewhere, thought "here's a woman and man who are so dumb they think:
"Here's a steel barricade that someone purposely erected to prevent people like us from doing stupid things, but we're so dumb, we're going to circumvent this safety structure and go do our stupid thing anyway".

I wonder, as she and he slipped over the edge of the falls, if they remembered that barricade--and i wonder if they thought of the friend that they had to have known was going to be going over right behind them?

Life is unforgiving and even moreso when you're being stupid--You can't fix stupid, and there's a huge difference in being adventureous and being completly stupid. Hopefully all those who had the misfortune to witness this event learned, and will teach a valuable lesson to all those they know. "Don't do stupid crap"

People do stupid things every single day, and many die from them--some kill or maim their friends and family in the process. The fact that it happens every single day doesn't make it any less stupid, but probably just means stupidity is growing by leaps and bounds. Or maybe stupidity is just being reported more widely today.
I feel for the family of their friend--the last guy that courageously tried to save the couple from themselves, but I feel nothing for the couple that intentionally went thru the steel barricade.

I read a storey were a man found a militarey round and was useing it as an anvill (live round).sometimes I think the stupid gene is inherited.

I think sometimes people look at a safety barrier and think, "THAT'S for stupid people who don't know how to handle a little risk".
They just think it was put there for MORONS, not fit, thinking specimens such as themselves.
"The stupid stuff only happens to the stupid people. That ain't us!"
It's probibly just that simple.

There should just be signs that say, "The Risk Of Death Here Is A __. (rated 1-10, 10 being bye-bye.)
Then at least you could rack up some numbers for braggin' rights.

"I've collected 14 different nines!"

[This message has been edited by Boondawg (edited 07-23-2011).]

I remember the time a friend of my sisters was useing a brush shredder,he was shoveing his hand way down just beyond the ruber flap.I told him the cutting blades were just beyond that flap.Did he listen,no.I told my sister Im leaveing because I didnt want to be around if he cuts his hand off.

quote Boondawg JUL 23, 09:03 PM I think sometimes people look at a safety barrier and think, "THAT'S for stupid people who don't know how to handle a little risk". They just think it was put there for MORONS, not fit, thinking specimens such as themselves. "The stupid stuff only happens to the stupid people. That ain't us!" It's probibly just that simple. There should just be signs that say, "The Risk Of Death Here Is A __. (rated 1-10, 10 being bye-bye.) Then at least you could rack up some numbers for braggin' rights. "I've collected 14 different nines!"

That was hilarious and probably pretty accurate lol