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 the river, washed over St. Mary Falls and drowned in the water below the falls, park officials said Monday.
The incident happened around 5:20 p.m. at the falls, which is on the east side of the national park in northwestern Montana. Witnesses told park rangers the woman was trapped under water for several minutes after going over the 35-foot waterfall.
Bystanders pulled the woman out of the water and 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 is taking 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.
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