PORTLAND, OREGON: A 41-year-old hiker from Beaverton died over the weekend after slipping and falling down a mountainside in front of his wife and five children near Oregon's Multnomah Falls. Gerardo Hernandez-Rodriguez was hiking around the first switchback on the route beyond the Benson Bridge on Saturday, July 1, when he lost his footing and fell down an embankment at around 1:30 pm.
Hernandez-Rodriguez's family called 911 after they and other witnesses lost sight of him following the fall. Sheriff's deputies, the Corbett Fire District and a US Forest Service ranger immediately launched a search operation but failed to find him. Then, Gresham police were called in to conduct a search with a drone due to the inaccessible and steep terrain. Hernandez-Rodriguez's body was discovered about an hour later by a deputy, who had investigated the area beneath the base of the cliff on the south side of the Historic Columbia River Highway where the father-of-five had fallen. Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said that he died from the injuries caused by the fall, according to ABC 7.
The family was 'all here enjoying a beautiful day'
Officers initially speculated that Hernandez-Rodriguez fell 100-150ft but the investigation confirmed that he fell nearly 200ft. "Mom, Dad, five kids were all here enjoying a beautiful day. And unfortunately, a tragic accident happened," said John Plock, a spokesman for the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office, adding, "At one point on the trail, the father slipped and fell and fell down the side of an embankment.” His fall was likely caused by alcohol impairment, according to the MCSO, which also urged others to exercise caution when hiking on the trails.
"Nearly 2 million people visit Multnomah Falls every year but it's not just a leisurely walk where you show up with your flip-flops and you take a walk on a paved path," Plock said, adding, "This isn't just going on a walk, this is a trail, this is a hiking trail, and so we encourage people to come prepared for an actual hike, it's not a paved walk. it's a hike.”
Hernandez-Rodriguez’s devastating death left other hikers in the area shaken. "My gosh, it's horrible," Sarina Khosravani, a hiker, told ABC affiliate station KATU in Portland, adding, "They told us that they were going to shut down the [Benson] bridge. We couldn't go up there.”
Similar incident
Another hiker died in August 2022 after falling around 100ft from a trail near the same area where Hernandez-Rodriguez died. In that incident, “the woman was hiking with a group of friends on the Multnomah Falls-Larch Mountain Trail” when she fell, according to a statement from the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office and Corbett Fire District. After she fell, bystanders administered CPR but when officials arrived at the scene, about 1.3 miles off the trailhead, firefighters "pronounced the hiker deceased," the release added. The woman was identified as 62-year-old Jessica Warejoncas of Minnesota.
