A 21-year-old woman injured her head during a 60-foot fall today off a cliff at Falling Water Falls in Walden, officials said.
The woman's name has not been released.
According to Hamilton County Emergency Services spokeswoman Amy Maxwell, three people hiked to a natural spring this afternoon. They encountered steep terrain, negotiating 90-degree angles in some cases, Ms. Maxwell said.
At some point during the hike back, the woman slipped and fell before hitting her head and rolling 60 feet off a bluff, Ms. Maxwell said.
Another woman hiking with the victim held a shirt to the woman's head as a male hiker headed to his vehicle to get a cell phone to call 911, Ms. Maxwell said. When he reached a dispatcher about 6:40 p.m., he waited for authorities so he could show them where the woman had fallen.
Walden's Ridge Emergency Services, Hamilton County Emergency Services and the Lone Oak Fire Department responded to the scene. Ms. Maxwell said the victim was bleeding from her head. She said she didn't know how bad the victim was hurt, but the victim had the potential for "major traumatic injuries" due to the fall.
About 10 workers planned to pull her out of the deep canyon using ropes and a Stokes stretcher, Ms. Maxwell said. As of 9:15 p.m., Ms. Maxwell estimated it would take about 30 more minutes to retrieve the victim and begin transporting her to Erlanger hospital.
It took authorities about two hours to reach the victim, she said.