Around 1:15 p.m., on Friday, August 19, dispatchers received a report that a female hiker suffered a head injury after falling near Wiesendanger Falls in the Columbia River Gorge.
As firefighters from the Corbett Fire District and deputies from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office were en-route, dispatchers provided an update that the injuries were life threatening and that bystanders had started CPR.
Corbett firefighters deployed from the Multnomah Falls Lodge and reached the hiker, approximately 1.3 miles from the trailhead. Firefighters pronounced the hiker deceased.
The Multnomah County Search & Rescue team has been activated to help the Medical Examiner’s Office recover of the hiker.
The woman was hiking with a group of friends on the Multnomah Falls-Larch Mountain Trail, #441. It is estimated the hiker fell approximately 100 feet.
TIPNW was dispatched to provide emotional support and mental health resources for those impacted by the hiker’s death.
Due to congestion, media is advised to use the Multnomah Falls parking lot off I-84 to access the area. A PIO is not responding to the incident.
The Multnomah County Medical Examiner’s Officer later identified the deceased hiker as 62-year-old Jessica Warejoncas of Minnesota.
The manner of death is not considered suspicious.
The family is asking for privacy and does not want to be contacted by the media.
