Two hikers died in what is being called a “freak accident” after falling off a 150-foot cliff while climbing Oregon’s Mount Hood.
Emma Place and Emily Lang, both 19, were found dead Saturday at the rocky base of a waterfall six miles away from a lodge, the Daily Mail reported.
“It looked like a freak accident,” Steve Rollins, rescue leader of Portland Mountain Rescue told Oregon Live.
Authorities say the women slipped on some rocks near their campsite at the top of the waterfall and fell off the Pacific Crest Trail cliff.
Other hikers in the area found their bodies and called 911, officials said Monday.
Sgt. Brian Jensen, a spokesperson for the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office, said officials have not been able to locate any witnesses to the accident.
“All evidence points toward the possibility of an accidental fall or something along those lines,” Jensen told KOIN. “There was no evidence of a jump or a push.”
Rescue workers found their bodies at 11:50 p.m. Saturday when officials pronounced the two Portland women dead at the scene.
Authorities have not yet determined exactly when the women fell, but search crews found two cell phones near the site. The crews have not yet been able to get any information from them, however.