A local man jumped down 18-feet to save a mother and her two-year-old daughter who both narrowly survived with their lives after falling 100 feet while hiking the Multnomah Falls outside Portland on Sunday.
Shane Roundy, 33, was waiting for his daughter outside the public restrooms when he heard yelling coming from the 620 foot falls. He ran over to the small crowd of people to ask what happened when he was told two people fell off the bridge into the water.
Roundy, a mechanic, quickly sprung into action. Without thinking he jumped over the railing, hopped over fallen trees, and jumped into the icy water following the screams: 'Someone help my daughter.'
Roundy found Olivia, who he believes is in her late 20s and her two-year-old daughter Katie in the water. Olivia begged Roundy to help Katie first and he took the crying toddler and hugged her tight trying to warm her up.
Putting Katie down for a moment he rushed back to pull Olivia, who was injured, from the water. He told Katie he would be back for her and ran back to the wall to bring the crying toddler to safety.
Shane Roundy, a 33-year-old mechanic from Oregon, quickly came to the rescue jumping down an 18-foot wall to rescue Olivia, the mother, and Katie, the daughter
The mother and her toddler were 'alert and conscious' after their 100 ft fall along the hike at Multnomah Falls on Sunday. They were taken to the hospital to recover from non-life threatening injuries
'The wall I jumped over was 18 feet tall but I didn’t notice until later,' he told DailyMail.com.
When he made it back to the wall where a group of about six hikers had gathered to help he noticed it was an 18-foot drop. Roundy's stepmother, girlfriend, daughter, and others held the feet of another man who hung over the railing to catch the toddler.
Roundy tossed the child up to the man who caught her. Roundy then ran back to Olivia to tell her that Katie was safe. He tried to help Katie but she asked that he go back to keep her daughter safe.
When Roundy returned to Katie, a woman ran down the trail screaming for help. Jean, Olivia's mother and Katie's grandmother, had run down the trail trying to get help for eight minutes.
When Jean was reunited with Katie, the toddler was surrounded by nearly half a dozen good Samaritans who removed their layers and took blankets and jackets from the gift shop nearby to warm the child.
After Roundy, an off-duty paramedic rushed to help Olivia until authorities arrived.
Emergency services eventually made it to the scene and helped Katie to safety. Both Olivia and Katie were rushed to Oregon Health & Science University with non-life threatening injuries and are expected to make a full recovery.
The pair fell into the water of the bottom pool of the falls after the toddler first slipped near the Benson Bridge that straddles the popular trail and her mother lost her balance trying to save her.
'I just remember thinking someone needs help I need to get to them,' Roundy said to DailyMail.com. He didn't stop to think or stumble when making the 'miraculous' rescue.
'I felt light I felt like someone was lifting me over the trees,' he said. 'I just ran as fast as I could and jumped and leaped and didn’t fall miraculously because normally I would have.'
Julia Hariri (left), Erica Klein (center) and Hope Monaghan (right) were beginning their hike when they heard screams for a help a woman frantically searching for her daughter and grandbaby
Jill Willis, Vice President of Multnomah Falls Company, said fellow hikers quickly jumped into action to take care of the baby as the mother was being treated for her injuries by an off-duty paramedic who was along the trail
'It was very clear like the baby was like injured,' witness, Ericka Klein recounted to KATU. 'Someone had grabbed the baby from the mom, and then somebody else was down there with the mom, making sure she was okay. She had a broken leg, I think.'
A state park ranger warned of slippery terrain, uneven footing, and potential landslides while hiking in the area during this time of year
Kanyon Reams, a paramedic with the Corbett Fire Department, was sent to the scene where he found the mother with a fractured leg and injuries to her face and abdomen.
'There was a ton of manpower down there because of those off-duty medical personnel,' Reams said to Fox 12. 'We were quickly able to extricate the patient.'
Employees at the falls called 911 and helped to clear a path for emergency services. 'That could be a challenge out here, making sure that emergency vehicles can get down the highway because it can get very congested,' explained Willis.
Multnomah Falls, located about 30 miles northeast of Portland, is the state's tallest waterfall and the most visited natural recreation site in the Pacific Northwest, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
It is listed as a moderate trail with the bridge being reached the first few minutes of the hike. Roundy said although the full hike can he difficult: ‘There’s always kids there.’
State Park Ranger Jamen Lee explained: 'It's always challenging in the gorge for us to prepare visitors for the terrain and the conditions.' He warned of slippery terrain, uneven footing, and potential landslides during this time of year.
Post a Comment