On Monday, February 13, New York State Park Police and the Niagara Falls Fire Department responded to a call regarding an incident that occurred at the Niagara Gorge.
At around 12:30 p.m. emergency responders received multiple calls that reported an “adult female and her child fell into the Niagara Gorge between Terrapin Point and the Cave of the Winds.”
After arriving on the scene, officers and firefighters were able to reach the woman and her 5-year-old son by traversing the side of the gorge.
According to the rescuers, the area where the victims were discovered was “rocky, jagged and with a lot of ice.”
Rescuers were able to remove the child and attempted to perform CPR on the mother. Unfortunately, the mother was pronounced dead at the scene and her body was airlifted out of the area via helicopter.
Park Police Capt. Chris Rola said that the child, “was stable enough to be brought out and taken up on the elevator for the Cave of the Winds. He was then transported by Mercy Flight.”
Reports shared that the boy suffered a head injury; at this time, his condition remains unknown.
The investigation into the incident remains ongoing, as police “don’t believe it was an accident.”
The woman and her child were apparently with another family member when the tragic incident occurred. Witnesses saw the mother jump over the safety railing where both her and her son fell about 90 feet into the gorge.
The identities of the woman and her child have not been released to the public, although it is assumed they were tourists.
