National park waterfall area closed for recovery of body of teen visitor who fell

The Sol Duc Falls area in the Olympic National Park is closed while rescue teams recover

the body of an 18-year-old man who fell

down the 50-foot waterfall.

A young man was seen walking across rocks on top of the falls when he slipped Sunday, the park reported. He resurfaced at the bottom of the waterfall, then resubmerged afterward.

Local fire crews and search teams worked with the national park to locate the man, searching riverbanks and assembling a high-angle rope system to lower a rescuer 60 feet over an embankment to search, but he wasn’t found initially, Clallam 2 Professional Firefighters Local 5177 said Monday.

That same day, a park ranger discovered a body underwater that was likely the same visitor, the park said.

While the Sol Duc Falls area remains closed, the Olympic National Park’s search and rescue team is preparing to recover the body.

The recovery is complicated by high river flows due to recent high temperatures and rapid snowmelt, the speed and force of the water and other natural hazards like a whirlpool and the algae-covered cliff face, the park said.

Sol Duc Falls splits into as many as four channels that tumble nearly 50 feet into a narrow, rocky canyon.

As soon as the river conditions are safe, the team will begin the operation, the park said.

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