Asheville man dies from 50-foot fall from Polk County waterfall
TRYON - A 29-year-old Asheville man died last week after an accident at a waterfall in Polk County, according the Tryon Fire Department and Polk County Emergency Management.
Tryon Fire Chief Josh Walton told the Times-News on Jan. 17 that William Andrew Lee, who had lived in Polk County but recently lived in Asheville, fell from Melrose Falls in the late-night hours of Jan. 10.
Lee was a 2013 Polk County High School graduate and graduated from UNC Asheville in 2018 with a degree in accounting. He was an active member of Biltmore Church in Arden and is survived by his parents, Rick and Amy Mueller Lee of Tryon, and sister Caroline Lee of Birmingham, Alabama, the obituary says.
After being rescued by emergency personnel at the scene, Lee was transported by Mission Health's helicopter, MAMA, to Spartanburg Regional Hospital in South Carolina, where he later died in the early-morning hours of Jan. 11, Walton said.
With cellphone service being spotty in the area of the accident, dispatchers were unable at first to understand the caller, who was a friend of Lee's, Walton said.
"We got dispatched at 10:10 p.m. The first call came around 9:45 p.m. By the time we got clarity that this was an actual event, we got dispatched," Walton said. "We had a Polk County deputy come in from the trailhead and meet the friend, and we had a rescuer come in from the opposite end on a trail that very few people know about. (Lee) is an avid outdoorsman."
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The trail leading to the falls
Located off U.S. 176 the trail to Melrose Falls is a half-mile hike to the upper falls, which is now managed by Conserving Carolina, a local environmental nonprofit, and parallels the North Pacolet River. According to AllTrails.com, the elevation gain is 131 feet, and the falls' height is a little more than 50 feet.
The AllTrails.com description of the final part of the trail is as follows: "It's a fairly easy trail but the final descent to the falls is very steep and can be slippery. It leads to a cliff that overlooks the falls. That cliff is high enough that people probably shouldn't take children or dogs on this trail."
Walton said due to slick, wet conditions from rain the previous day, and the rough terrain, the rescue took more than four hours. Tryon Fire was first on scene, then assisted by at least six other local agencies and rescue teams. Between 25 to 30 personnel responded, Arledge said.
Polk County Emergency Management Director Bobby Arledge told the Times-News on Jan. 17 that this isn't the first time someone has been injured at the falls.
"We have had a few minor injuries at these falls over the past few years but nothing to this extent," he said.
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The rescue
Walton said the deputy met with the friend on the trail and confirmed that someone had fallen and was seriously injured.
"The other rescuer immediately located the victim's flashlight on a ledge. ... The rescuer climbed down and located him. The victim was located within 20 minutes of the time of dispatch," Walton said.
Lee was found about 10 feet from the bottom of the falls, wedged between a rock and a pool of water, Walton said.
"When the victim was located, the crews that went in from Tryon and Saluda stated they would need more help, so we reached out to Henderson County Rescue Squad with their Mountain Search and Rescue Team," he said. "It was very cold conditions, with high water because it had rained and it was very rugged terrain."
Walton said crews rigged two rope systems to get the victim out.
"From start to finish, we got to the victim at 10:25 p.m. and got him to the ambulance at 2:45 that morning. That puts it in perspective. We were faced with the rain from the day before, so water levels were up and the falls were at a faster pace," he said.
Walton said when they got Lee out of the woods, he was still alive and semiconscious.
"He was very injured. Unfortunately, a few hours at the hospital, he passed away," he said.
According to Lee's obituary, there will be a celebration of life service on Jan. 22 in Arden.
Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Asheville man dies from fall at Polk waterfall
