The body of a 21-year-old hiker cannot be brought home after falling 90 to 150 meters into a rocky ravine in front of his girlfriend, only to find himself stuck in an area “impossible” to walk to.
“It’s devastating not being able to bring Joel home. After the search was complete, some of Joel’s family and friends went up the mountain to try to find him. Joel was a person who loved the outdoors,” said a crowdfunding campaign launched Friday to provide a grant in his memory.
Photo from the GoFundMe page
Last Monday, 21-year-old Joel Tranby climbed the North Sister in Oregon’s Cascade Range when he reportedly fell about 300 feet for the first time, past his girlfriend Fiona Curley, who was accompanying him, The Independent reported on Saturday.
The seriously injured young man was then able to speak while his girlfriend was busy calling the emergency room.
But now, about two hours later, the young woman would have lost sight of her boyfriend after he suffered a second fall.
In the days that followed, drone and helicopter searches were conducted in the “impossible” walking area to locate the young man, according to the Lane County Sheriff’s Office. He was finally seen lifeless on Thursday.
While experienced mountaineers were consulted to “determine whether a recovery mission could be safely conducted,” the statement originally shared by The Independent said, the victim’s family finally let it be known that “they are unlikely to be able to recover the body.”