Aumsville climber falls hundreds of feet, dies at Three-Fingered Jack
Deschutes SAR mountain rescuers among numerous agencies involved in recovery; also called out to rescue effort at Tamolitch Falls (Blue Pool)
SWEET HOME, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A 19-year-old Aumsville man climbing near the summit of Three-Fingered Jack fell hundreds of feet and died on Sunday, Linn County Sheriff Jim Yon said Tuesday.
Sheriff Jim Yon said deputies responded to a report around 1 p.m. Sunday of a hiker falling at the jagged peak.
The popular climbing site for technical mountainners is located about 70 miles east of Sweet Home, in Linn and Jefferson counties. Yon said it's "known to have poor rock quality and steep cliffs near the summit."
A witness said Todd Adelman was climbing near the summit when rocks gave way, causing him to fall hundreds of feed, Yon said. He was found at the bottom of a cliff, at about 7,300 feet elevation, where he was pronounced dead.
Responding agencies worked through the night to recover Adelman.
They included the Lane, Benton and Jefferson County sheriff's offices, Corvallis and Eugene Mountain Rescue and the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue Mountain Rescue Unit.
It was one of two Linn County rescues the Deschutes County unit assisted in on Sunday. The other happened at Tamolitch Falls and Blue Pool, off Highway 126.
Yon said dispatchers received a report around 6:15 p.m. of a man jumping into the water who had not surfaced.
He said Pavan Vamuleti, 28, was jumping off the rock ledges in the area when he did not surface for minutes after his last jump. He was pulled to shore, carried out of the area and transfered to Life Flight. The man was flown to a Springfield hospital, where he was trated and released on Monday.
Over the past two months, there have been more than 10 rescues at Tamolitch Falls, an increasingly popular tourist attraction located about 50 miles east of Sweet Home, the sheriff noted, asking the public visiting the area to take proper precautions.
