26-Year-Old Woman Drowns After Getting Swept Up into Waterfall at Glacier National Park

"The woman was washed over the falls and trapped under water for several minutes," the National Park Service said in a press release

View of lower Saint Mary Falls in Glacier National Park, Montana, United States
Stock image of Saint Mary Falls in Glacier National Park, Montana. Photo:

Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty

A 26-year-old woman from Pennsylvania has died after being swept up into a waterfall at Glacier National Park in Montana on Sunday, June 23.

On Monday, the National Park Service announced in a press release that the woman had “drowned after falling into the water above St. Mary Falls on the east side” of the park in the afternoon.

“According to witnesses, the woman was washed over the falls and trapped under water for several minutes,” the statement read. “Bystanders pulled her from the water below the falls and administered CPR until emergency responders arrived.”

They added that park rangers and Babb ambulance personnel also began performing CPR on the woman once they arrived.

“ALERT helicopter landed nearby at about 6:20 p.m. and assisted with resuscitation efforts but the victim never regained consciousness,” the press release continued. “Resuscitation efforts were terminated at about 7 p.m. and ALERT personnel pronounced the woman deceased.”

Saint Mary Falls in Glacier National Park, Montana, United States
Saint Mary Falls in Glacier National Park, Montana in 2013.

Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty

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There were reportedly multiple 911 calls made to the park dispatch that were “routed through Glacier County dispatch at approximately 5:20 p.m.”

By approximately 5:45 p.m. local time, park rangers had arrived at the scene and the body of the deceased was flown to the 1913 Ranger Station.

Officials then met with the Glacier County coroner who took the body to the medical examiner in Missoula, Mont. for an autopsy.

“The death is under investigation and additional details are still being gathered,” the National Park Service wrote. “Next of kin is currently being notified in advance of releasing the woman’s name.”

"Park staff would like to thank Glacier County, ALERT, Babb Ambulance and US Border Patrol for their support, along with numerous bystanders for their immediate assistance,” they added. “The park extends their deepest condolences to family and friends of the woman and asks that the public respect their privacy.”

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