29-year-old slips off waterfall and plunges 30 feet to her death, Maine officials say
A 29-year-old woman fell 30 feet to her death after slipping off the top of a waterfall in Maine, officials said.
Tanisha Barry from Lewiston was visiting Smalls Falls in Franklin County on May 7 when she fell, according to a Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife news release.
Around 4:30 p.m., Barry and a friend were in a pool above the falls, the news release said.
“When she got close to the edge, according to witnesses, she stumbled, and before she could regain her footing, fell approximately 30 feet down the falls,” the release said.
One of Barry’s friends rushed to the bottom to look for her, but couldn’t find her in the roaring water at the base of the falls, according to the department.
Barry’s friend drove to a spot with cell phone reception and called 911, according to officials. He then returned to the falls.
When rescuers arrived, they rappelled down the rocks to the bottom of the falls and found Barry’s body caught in the circulating water, the release said.
Rescuers pulled her body out of the water and up the waterfall using ropes and a rescue litter, according to the release.
Barry’s body was transported to a funeral home in Farmington, according to officials.
The Maine Warden Service, Rangeley Fire and Rescue, Phillips Fire and Rescue, Strong Fire and Rescue and Franklin County Search and Rescue responded to the scene.
Smalls Falls is about 110 miles north of Portland.
This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 1:01 PM with the headline "29-year-old slips off waterfall and plunges 30 feet to her death, Maine officials say."
