A North Dakota teenager survived a near 100-foot fall into the Grand Canyon Aug. 8 after ducking to avoid being in a picture taken by other tourists.
Wyatt Kauffman, 13, suffered nine broken vertebrae plus a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung, a concussion and a broken hand and dislocated finger after slipping nearly 100 feet at the Bright Angel Point trail, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
“I was up on the ledge and was moving out of the way so other people could take a picture,” Kauffman told KPNX News. “I squatted down, and when I was, holding on to a rock. I only had one hand on it. It wasn’t that good of a grip. It was kinda pushing me back. I lost my grip and started to fall back.”
On Aug 8, 2023, the park’s Search & Rescue Team responded to a call.
A 13 year-old boy had fallen approximately 70-100 feet below Bright Angel Point on the North Rim. They set up a rope rescue and were able to safely raise him to the rim > https://t.co/e2vnRBwYcv 📷L. Cisneros pic.twitter.com/0b5fDXH76C— Grand Canyon NPS (@GrandCanyonNPS) August 11, 2023
It took 40 emergency personnel two hours to rescue Kaufmann from his precarious position and into an ambulance – an excruciating wait for Kauffman’s dad, Brian.
“Two hours is an eternity in a situation like that, but when they have to repel down the cliff and get them out of the canyon in a basket. We’re extremely grateful for the work of everyone,” he told the outlet. (RELATED: Man Plunges Over 4,000 Feet To Death At Grand Canyon)
“I can say with great confidence that they put to use advanced medical skills in an austere environment that are rarely executed in most other places,” Meghan Smith, the Preventive Search and Rescue Supervisor stated in a release from the National Park Service.
“It’s clear that their training and hard work paid off, leading to a smooth, timely operation that will no doubt lead to better outcomes for this patient,” she stated.
Kaufmann was airlifted to a hospital in Las Vegas where he remains in stable condition despite his serious injuries. Though the teen remembers the circumstances that led to his fall, he has no memory of what occurred immediately after.
“I just remember somewhat waking up and being in the back of an ambulance and a helicopter and getting on a plane and getting here,” he told KPNX News.
“We’re just lucky we’re bringing our kid home in a car in the front seat instead of in a box. A lot of people back in North Dakota longhand home as quickly as possible,” his father told the outlet.