St. Mary Falls in Glacier National Park. (Photo by NPS / Tim Rains)
A 26-year-old Pennsylvania woman died Sunday afternoon in Glacier National Park after she fell into Virginia Creek, was swept over a series of waterfalls and drowned in the water below, park officials said Monday.
Park officials on Tuesday morning identified the woman as Gillian Tones of North Apollo, Pennsylvania.
The incident happened around 5:20 p.m. at the falls, which is on the east side of the national park in northwestern Montana. The woman was originally reported to have fallen into the water above St. Mary Falls and was swept over.
But on Tuesday, park officials said Tones slipped on slick rocks, fell into the creek between St. Mary and Virginia Falls about 200 yards above the bridge there, and was swept over a series of waterfalls. She was trapped underwater by a log for several minutes until bystanders pulled her out of the river.
The bystanders administered CPR until park rangers arrived around 5:45 p.m., according to park officials.
An ALERT medical rescue helicopter arrived on scene around 6:20 p.m. and the crew continued trying to resuscitate the woman, but she never regained consciousness. The woman, who has not been publicly identified pending notification of her next of kin, was pronounced deceased around 7 p.m.
The helicopter flew the woman’s body to a ranger station in St. Mary to meet the Glacier County coroner, who took the woman’s body to Missoula for an autopsy, according to officials.
Glacier National Park spokesperson Gina Icenoggle said Monday afternoon the investigation into the incident is ongoing and rangers are still gathering details.
Park officials thanked the helicopter ambulance service, Glacier County, Babb Ambulance, the U.S. Border Patrol and “numerous bystanders” for assisting in the rescue and response.
“The park extends their deepest condolences to family and friends of the woman and asks that the public respect their privacy,” park officials said in a statement.
Drowning is one of the top three causes of death of visitors to the park, along with natural causes and falls, park officials said in 2022, which was tied for the deadliest year in the park. As of 2017, there were 56 visitors who had drowned to death in the park, the Great Falls Tribune reported.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to identify Tones as the victim and clarify the series of events on Sunday after the Daily Montanan received more information from Glacier National Park.
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