Rescuer among dead at falls

PILCHUCK FALLS, Wash. – A search and rescue worker died over the weekend trying to save another man who fell 100 feet at Pilchuck Falls in Western Washington.

Skagit County authorities said the hiker also died Saturday night. A friend who got in trouble himself while trying to rescue the 25-year-old hiker was rescued.

The accident happened about 36 miles northwest of Seattle when the two men were separated from their hiking group and tried to make their way down to the falls near Lake Cavanaugh.

A Skagit County Search and Rescue team was training nearby and responded to their call for help. A 61-year-old volunteer fell and died as he tried to reach the two men.

On Sunday, authorities recovered the bodies of two men who died Saturday night at Pilchuck Falls, the Bellingham Herald reported. The names of the victims have not been released.

Pilchuck Falls is 14 feet high and 60 feet wide in a steep ravine, according to the website AaronsWaterfallWorld.com, which tracks conditions at waterfalls in Western Washington. According to the website, the trail involves using a series of ropes to get to the bottom.

A May 31 post on a hiking blog at the Washington Trails Association website, wta.org, said the route is steep and slippery.