California Man Spent Two Days Trapped Behind Waterfall Before Rescue

A canyoneer spent some 48 hours nestled in a dark, wet cave behind a raging waterfall before rescuers managed to hoist him out.

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Helicopter rescue at Seven Teacups (Photo: Courtesy Tulare County Sheriff's Office)

A California canyoneer spent two days trapped in a dark cave behind a waterfall after his plan to rappel the cascade went wrong, the Tulare County Sheriff’s office said.

In a Facebook video, the office said that the “stunning survival story” began on August 10, when 46-year-old Ryan Wardwell attempted to rappel the Seven Teacups waterfall, a tiered waterfall on Dry Meadow Creek just before it joins the Kern River that’s popular with canyoneers. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Wardwell had headed to the waterfall with friends, but they turned back after seeing how high the creek was running. On their way out, they left a note on his car asking passerby to call authorities if it was still there the following day.

After Wardwell failed to turn up, law enforcement initiated a search for him using aircraft equipped with infrared cameras. However, they were unable to locate him until August 12, when they flew a drone behind the cascade and found Wardwell still conscious and sheltering in a darkened cave. According to the sheriff’s office, the “extreme hydraulics” of the river had pushed Wardwell behind the torrent, and he had been unable to break out over the following days. A video of the rescue shows a California Highway Patrol helicopter hovering low in the narrow canyon before it successfully hoists the lost canyoneer from behind the waterfall and loads him into the aircraft. Medical personnel treated Wardwell for dehydration and minor injuries before reuniting him with his family.

Mike Crane, a flight paramedic with California Highway Patrol, told the Chronicle that he “got the impression that maybe [Wardwell] didn’t know if he was ever going to get out of there.”

In its post, the sheriff’s office reminded members of the public “to always be aware of their environment and capabilities, especially when navigating white water rivers.”