Officials have recovered the bodies of the two victims who fell from Yosemite’s Taft Point. Image: AP
Officials have recovered the bodies of the couple that plunged to their deaths from a popular Yosemite lookout.
The couple fell from Taft Point, a 7,500-foot high spot that is well-known for wedding and photos, but as with many parts of the park, it can be dangerous. “There is a railing at the overlook but there are plenty of places you can go near there without railings,” Jamie Richards, a Yosemite spokeswoman, told The Mercury News. “Yosemite is an inherently wild place.”
According to reports, the bodies were spotted by park visitors on Wednesday evening. They called the rangers, who decided that it was too late in the day for a recovery effort. Now, officials have rappelled down to the bodies while California Highway Patrol assisted with a helicopter. The victims were found some 800 feet down the side of Taft Point’s steep cliff.
According to Richards, the railing near the overlook is intact. As of Saturday, officials have not identified the victims. “We haven’t yet determined what yet happened in this tragic incident. It’s going to take us several days before we know more.”
More than 10 people have died at Yosemite this year. Perhaps most notable were Tim Klein and Jason Wells, a pair of expert climbers who fell about 1,000 feet from El Capitan, the huge granite wall on the north side of Yosemite Valley.
