Identity of Falling Victim at Yellowstone Released
October 1, 2007 - Authorities have released the identity of the woman who fell to her death in Yellowstone National Park Friday evening, September 28, 2007.
32-year old Charlotte Harrison was from Beverly Hills, California. Harrison and a 39-year old male friend from Los Angeles were traveling through the park, and had stopped to take pictures at a pullout in the Calcite Springs area just north of Tower Fall when the incident occurred.
Rangers received a report about 6:30 Friday evening that a woman had fallen over the cliff. When they arrived on scene, they could see Harrison lying motionless on the canyon floor below next to the Yellowstone River. A ranger who rappelled down the 400-foot cliff confirmed she had died.
Due to darkness, steep terrain, and the complex nature of this type of large scale operation, park staff had to wait until Saturday morning to remove the victim from the canyon floor. An autopsy conducted over the weekend shows the cause of death was massive trauma caused by the fall.
The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information they think might help investigators is asked to call the Park Tip Line at 307-344-2132.
This is the same area of the park where a visitor from Michigan stepped over a rock retaining wall and fell to her death in June 2006.
Source: NPS
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