Frostbitten teen rescued after fall

A 17-year-old girl was rescued early Wednesday morning from a rocky ledge about 150 feet below an observation deck at Falls Park in Post Falls.

Post Falls police said the teen fell an unknown distance to the ice- and snow-covered ledge near the Spokane River but didn’t suffer “significant injuries related to the actual fall.”

After the rescue, which was hampered by icy conditions, she was taken to Kootenai Medical Center to be treated for frostbite to her feet and toes.

Police Lt. Scot Haug said the teen was being treated for her injuries, and detectives had yet to interview her as of late Wednesday afternoon.

Haug said the Post Falls teen had recently moved to the area and left her home – about a mile and a half from the park – after arguing with her family. A friend of the family told police he tracked the young woman’s footprints in the snow and heard her calling for help from the edge of the river.

He called 911 around 2:45 a.m. When authorities arrived at the park moments later, the teen was unconscious, sprawled on a ledge just above the Post Falls dam. She was wearing a T-shirt and jeans and no shoes.

Because of the icy conditions, rescuers from the Post Falls Police Department and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue couldn’t immediately get to the teen, Lt. Greg McLean said.

As they were preparing to rappel down the icy cliff, McLean said they were able to wake the teen and persuade her to climb up the cliff to a point where they could reach her.

McLean said the teen was in a precarious position.

“One more roll and she would have been in the river,” he said. “She landed on a little flat spot and the water was 5 to 10 feet below where she was. She was pretty close to going in.”