Family rescued after man falls 30 feet off cliff face in Iron County

PAROWAN — A man broke his ankle and had to be airlifted out of a remote area in Iron County Thursday. His family was also helped by rescuers.

Parowan Police Lt. Eamonn Taylor said they received reports of a traumatic injury near the Vermillion Castle trail east of Parowan.

“(The 911 caller) and her siblings and her father were hiking off trail, kind of doing some light bouldering on some rock faces back there,” Taylor said. “The dad, a 43-year-old man from Saint George, slipped and fell approximately 30 feet onto another small cliff face.”

Taylor said the man sustained a compound fracture to his ankle. A Parowan police officer and medical personnel climbed up to the man and provided aid, but realized they would need help from a helicopter to get the injured man to safety.

“And so we called in for a helicopter support to hoist the patient because of that,” Taylor said. “Just kind of in a tricky area, with not a lot of ability to use ropes to get him down.”

 

 

The man was hoisted by a Department of Public Safety helicopter stationed in St. George. He was dropped off at a waiting ambulance and taken to the Cedar City Hospital, Taylor said.

“Before he got into the ambulance, he was in great spirits,” Taylor said. “As a matter of fact, he joked around quite a bit and, but clearly had an injury that needed some attention.”

Taylor said a rescue team from the Iron County Sheriff’s Office was able to help the rest of the family off the rock face. He said they were all uninjured, and just needed some water and help getting down.

 

Related: Witnesses describe helicopter crash at hangar in Woods Cross