A Birchwood man has been posthumously recognized for his heroism in trying to save a fellow hiker who slipped into water on Signal Mountain in 2024.
Gulson Elvé, 20, reacted immediately when he saw Greffania Merilus, 23, fall into the pool near the base of an overflow dam at Rainbow Falls after slipping on algae on April 28, 2024.
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Elvé reached her in the water and tried to bring her back to the shallows, but both of them submerged after Merilus began flailing out of panic and did not resurface. Friends called 911, and police recovered Merilus’s body about 20 minutes later, then Elvé’s body about an hour and a half after first attempting rescue. Neither could be revived from drowning.
The Carnegie Hero Fund recognized Elvé as one of 18 people who risked serious injury or death in attempts to save others. Elvé’s family and the others will receive the Carnegie Medal, the nation’s highest honor for civilian heroism.