Grueling rescue saves Ozark man from cliff

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A southwest Missouri man is recovering in a hospital after a harrowing rescue from a sheer cliff edge in northern Arkansas.

Cameron McLaughlin, 20, of Springfield and 21-year-old Zach Collette of Ozark were hiking Sunday on cliffs along the Buffalo National River when McLaughlin lost his balance and fell about 25 feet, landing onto a cliff ledge.

The Springfield News-Leader reports Collette ran three miles before he could make a phone call. Eventually, the Buffalo National River Search and Rescue team and several other organizations – about 50 people in all – retrieved McLaughlin from the ledge and wheeled him off the trail.

McLaughlin’s father says his son suffered two cracked vertebrae in his back and underwent surgery Tuesday night in a Springfield hospital.

This story was originally published December 3, 2014 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Grueling rescue saves Ozark man from cliff."