Campers hear screams after 79-year-old man falls to his death in Glacier National Park

Campers heard screams after a climber’s friends saw him fall to his death in Glacier National Park, rangers said.

A 79-year-old man was visiting the Montana national park from Florida on Monday, July 25, the National Park Service said. The man was climbing a “steep off-trail slope” with a group of friends when he fell.

“The incident occurred several hundred feet above the Two Medicine Campground on Rising Wolf Mountain,” the National Park Service said in a July 26 news release. “The friends descended to his location, yelled for help, and called 911.”

Campers heard the friends’ screams and rushed to get help. The National Park Service started a rescue mission for the man, officials said.

The man was found unconscious and was taken to medical personnel. He was pronounced dead shortly after, park officials said.

“Park staff would like to thank the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office, ALERT, and Two Bear Air for their support and would also like to express their deepest condolences to the family and ask that the public respect the family’s privacy,” park rangers said.

The man’s death was the third reported in the park that day. On Monday, July 25, two missing climbers were found dead in Glacier National Park, according to a McClatchy News report.

The climbers, both 67-year-old men from Montana, planned to climb Dusty Star Mountain on Thursday, July 21. They never returned and were reported missing.

This story was originally published July 26, 2022 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Campers hear screams after 79-year-old man falls to his death in Glacier National Park."