Last week, a 63-year-old woman fell from a popular hiking trail in Skamania County, Washington. Against the odds, she survived the 300-foot fall. Rebecca Holley of Hillsboro, Oregon was hiking with friends in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area on the border of Washington and Oregon when she fell hundreds of feet from the trail down a steep hillside.
The Skamania County Sheriff’s Office shared details from the rescue on Facebook, reporting that Holley’s friends calls 9-1-1 after she fell from the trail near the summit of Dog Mountain. A search-and-rescue team consisting of multiple agencies responded, using a U.S. Army medical helicopter to retrieve Holley, who was unconscious and unresponsive but alive.
After a stint at the hospital, Holley came home in time for Mother’s Day. On the Skamania County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook post, Holley’s daughter commented: “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for rescuing our mom. Because of your diligence, commitment, and heart of service, we get to have my mom for Mother’s Day tomorrow. We back the blue! Thank you so much!!!!”
Falling from 300 Feet
While hiking the Dog Mountain Trail in Columbia River Gorge, Holley’s group had reached the peak before things took a disastrous turn. In an interview published yesterday, Holley told KATU 2 News that she tripped on something, but it all happened so fast, it doesn’t seem like she’s entirely clear on what happened.
“One minute I’m kind of, you know, stumbling a little bit, and the next thing, I’m just like, over the edge,” she said, still bandaged and bruised from the ordeal. “All the way down, I’m just like ‘God, stop me, stop me.’”
KATU 2 News reports that an ER nurse helped Holley on the mountain as they waited for emergency responders to air lift her to the hospital.