Incident:Pine Creek fatality in Pine Creek Canyon 2025/10/26

Incident:Pine Creek fatality in Pine Creek Canyon 2025/10/26
Date	2025/10/26
Location	Pine Creek Canyon
Severity	Fatality
Canyoneering-related	Yes
SAR involvement	Yes
Navigation problem	No
Swift water problem	No
Environmental problem	Yes
Communication problem	Yes
Planning problem	No
Skills problem	Yes
Body movement problem	Yes
Rigging problem	Yes
Rappel problem	No
Insufficient gear	Yes
Gear failure	No

Summary

On October 26th, around 11:25 AM, our team of six adults and one minor arrived at the final rappel (R6) in Pine Creek Canyon and encountered a group of three adults (“Group 1”). They reported that one minor (Victim 1) was stuck on rappel and another individual (Victim 2) was unresponsive at the bottom. The group had no visual contact with Victim 2.

Group 1’s rope was rigged as a double-line rappel with no contingency. The three adults at the top of R6 were visibly cold and shaking when our team arrived.

Victim 1 was stuck midway down R6, using both lines through an ATC. The first member of our group (Canyoneer 1) rigged a new rope on a separate anchor at the main station and descended to assist Victim 1. Upon reaching Victim 1, Canyoneer 1 observed no visible jam or obstruction in the ATC. Victim 1 was considerably fatigued, uncomfortable and cold but calm. It was estimated later that Victim 1 had been stuck for about 20 minutes before Canyoneer 1 arrived. Victim 1 had attempted a leg-wrap lock-off but were unable to complete it due to rope tension. After securing Victim 1 to their harness, Canyoneer 1 attempted a pickoff, constructing a system to unweight the ATC. Hoisting attempts lifted Victim 1, but failed to release enough tension to free the device.

Shortly after Canyoneer 1 reached Victim 1, Canyoneer 2 arrived at the top of R6. Canyoneer 2 rigged another line using the far anchor which descends directly to the canyon floor (bypassing the short drop of the main anchor) to assess Victim 2.

Around 11:30 AM, Canyoneer 2 began their descent (with their minor son) and paused mid-rappel to ask if additional gear was needed before continuing. In the final 20 feet of the rappel, they spotted Victim 2 face-down on the slide section, with the double-line rope wrapped around their body and neck. Victim 2’s feet were at water level but not touching the bottom.

After completing the rappel, Canyoneer 2 detached from their rope and minor, then went to assist Victim 2. Canyoneer 2 had to lift Victim 2 multiple times to unwrap the rope from around the body, eventually lowering them and dragging them through the pool and onto the adjacent sand bank. Once on the bank, Canyoneer 2 confirmed no pulse and began CPR, calling to their team above to contact Search and Rescue (SAR) and send another Canyoneer to assist with CPR.

When Victim 2 was removed from the rope, the line slackened. Upon noticing this, Canyoneer 1 removed Victim 1 from the in-progress pick-off system. Victim 1 completed the rappel safely and waited on dry ground for their parent (still at the top) to descend. Canyoneer 1 attempted to send an SOS via iPhone satellite text from mid-rappel but was unsuccessful, and then continued down to coordinate with Canyoneer 2 (another canyoneer from Group 2 was taking a turn with CPR at this point) before continuing out of the canyon to try and get the SOS message to Emergency Responders.

Canyoneer 1 reached a point with signal and successfully transmitted an SOS text around 12:04 PM, receiving confirmation at 12:10 PM.

Members of Group 2 continued CPR while others completed the rappel and assisted remaining members of Group 1.

SAR arrived on site at approximately 1:30 PM and pronounced Victim 2 deceased at 1:42 PM.

Accounts

Analysis from canyoneer 2 (Scott Hansen)

Group 1 did not appear to have a working backup rope or rescue gear when our team arrived. They also did not display an apparent sense of urgency regarding their situation.

The decision to rig R6 as a double-line rappel limited the group’s ability to respond when one member became stuck mid-rappel and another became unresponsive below. A single-line rig with contingency or releasable setup would have allowed faster intervention.

Victim 2 had the rope wrapped around their back and over the right side of the neck then the rope continued back under the body. Multiple lifts were required to removed the rope from the body. The victim was found on the slide portion of the final rappel with their feet not on the ground but at the surface level of the water.

According to surviving group members, Victim 2 was familiar with “cross-body belay” and improvised body-friction techniques, and was reportedly preparing to belay from below after completing their own rappel. They stated that Victim 2 had reached the bottom and called up for the next person to rappel. Shortly after Victim 1 began descending, Victim 2 told them to pause—then fell silent.

All members of Group 1 were wearing wetsuits, which appeared to be relatively thin (approx. 3/2 mm).