2023-08-14 12:56:08
A 13-year-old North Dakota boy, Wyatt Kauffman, miraculously survived a 100-foot drop on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim while on a family vacation.
This daring adventure took place on Tuesday, when young Wyatt plunged dangerously off a cliff on the popular Bright Angel Point trail.
The grim situation sparked a tense two-hour rescue operation. Rescue teams used specialized rope rescue techniques to descend the cliff and hoist the injured teen from the depths of the canyon into a rescue basket.
Recalling the harrowing experience, Kauffman told Phoenix television station KPNX: “I was on the edge, stepping back so others might take pictures. I was holding on to a rock with one hand. The grip was shaky and I was being pushed backwards. Suddenly, I lost my grip and started to plummet.”
After the laborious rescue, the injured teenager was airlifted to a Las Vegas hospital.
Kauffman was treated for multiple serious injuries, including nine fractured vertebrae, a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung, a concussion, a broken hand and a dislocated finger.
Kauffman’s memories of the accident are blurry. He vaguely remembers waking up in an ambulance, being put on a helicopter, and arriving at the hospital.
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His father, Brian Kauffman, was in North Dakota when he was informed of his son’s accident and subsequent rescue.
The National Park Service search and rescue team had executed a rope rescue operation up the steep and narrow trail to safely lift Wyatt to the edge.
Expressing his deep gratitude to the rescue team, Brian Kauffman stated: “We are immensely grateful for the efforts of everyone involved. Two hours seems like an eternity in a situation like this.”
The visit to the Grand Canyon was part of a tour of the national parks that Wyatt and his mother were enjoying. Despite the ordeal, Brian Kauffman confirmed that his son had been released from the hospital on Saturday and was returning home.
Reflecting on the incident, Brian Kauffman told KPNX: “We’re lucky to bring our son home in a car in the front seat instead of in a coffin.” The Kauffman family is expected to arrive at their Casselton home on Tuesday.
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