Denver Woman Injured After Falling from Cliff While Trying to Rescue Friend’s Puppy
San Miguel County Sheriff Blue after her rescue
A 25-year-old woman was injured after she fell 30 feet off a cliff while trying to rescue her friend’s puppy on a hike in Colorado, authorities said.
The Denver woman was hiking with friends at Bridal Veil Falls in Telluride on Saturday when Blue, her pal’s 3½-month-old dog, slipped and fell, the San Miguel Sheriff’s Office said.
Blue lost her footing and was stuck on a ledge after tumbling about 15 feet down.
To help, a male member of the group headed down to try and catch the dog in case she fell, while the woman went in for the rescue from above, the sheriff’s office said.
Though she came close, the woman lost her footing and fell at least 30 feet below onto her friend, who broke her fall. Together, they both slid about 20 more feet.
Medical teams arrived on the scene around 11:30 a.m., and successfully rescued the woman, who was hospitalized with non life-threatening traumatic injuries, authorities said.
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San Miguel County Sheriff Blue after her rescue
The friend who broke her fall sustained minor injuries, and was treated and released from the hospital.
“Very, very lucky,” Susan Lilly, public information officer for the sheriff’s office and an EMT who responded to the scene, told KCNC. “This certainly could have had a different outcome, really a life-altering outcome, from the kind of fall she took.”
San Miguel County Sheriff Blue during her rescue
Blue, meanwhile, was rescued with a rope and placed in a harness, at which point she was returned to her owner unharmed.
Lilly said the person who rescued Blue was an 18 year old on his very first search and rescue mission.
“For me, it was the perfect scenario to get thrown into as my first time because I could get it done, I knew how it was supposed to go,” rescuer Wiley Holbrooke told KCNC.
