May 25, 2021 - The Madera County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) reports on Saturday, May 22, 2021 around 3:00 P.M., MCSO received a call for service for a 14 year old female who had slipped and fallen along Willow Creek at Angel Falls Recreation Area. During a family hike, she slipped and took a 50 foot fall down the waterfall, landing in a pool mid waterfall and injuring her shoulder.

Reserve Deputy Jack Williamson, a trained Search and Rescue (SAR) Deputy, was one of the first responders on scene. He was able to rig up a rope system for himself and another system for the patient. Deputy Williamson crawled out on the rock face, got into the pool of neck deep water, waded over to her, and got both of them secured. Deputy Williamson used himself as a barrier to keep her out of the water, and offered reassurance and comfort during the entire rescue. To safely execute the extraction, Deputy Williamson bear hugged the patient and laid on his back so they could be pulled up with him laying down. The 15 SAR personnel on scene used specialized SAR equipment to hoist the pair from the pool to safety. The victim was evaluated by Sierra Ambulance medical personnel and released to her parents.

During the rescue, there were other members of the public taking great risks crossing the river to try to help. At the risk of inadvertently making an already critical situation worse, please wait for trained personnel to arrive on scene. With locations such as Angel Falls that are close to parking lots and trails, hikers often have a false sense of security about the level of danger that exists.

Sheriff Tyson Pogue reflects, “Thanks to Deputy Williamson’s quick and selfless actions, and our partners at Sierra Ambulance and CAL FIRE, this complicated rescue had a positive outcome. Though temperatures are warm, we urge everyone to use extreme caution around rivers and creeks- rocks are slippery, and the water temperatures can be deadly cold.”


Source: MCSO - MCSO photo