He wanted a selfie with his girlfriend at Palouse Falls. Tuesday they recovered his body after he slipped.

The body of a hiker who slipped and fell while taking a selfie with his girlfriend above Palouse Falls was found about 1 p.m. Tuesday.

The man’s body was recovered from the Palouse River about 250 yards upstream of where the the falls plunge 198 feet, said Rusty Bell of Columbia Basin Dive Rescue.

Divers and other rescue workers had to lower equipment and rappel 120 feet down the rocks above the river for the search, said Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond.

The 25-year-old man who fell into the water had hiked to the area above the falls with his girlfriend on Memorial Day.

His name has not been officially released yet, but friends identified him as Cade Prophet of Spokane.

The couple were taking photos above the top of the falls and as they took a selfie Monday afternoon, the man slipped and fell into the river, Raymond said.

They arrived at Palouse Falls State Park about 2:30 p.m. and about 15 minutes later they had hiked up to the top of the falls and the man fell, said park ranger Audra Sims.

A visitor to Palouse Falls State Park on Monday afternoon said he saw a young woman climbing up a steep area, screaming that her boyfriend had fallen.

Franklin County Sheriff’s deputies and emergency and rescue workers from Columbia Basin Dive Rescue and the fire departments from Kennewick, Pasco and Kahlotus searched for several hours before deciding they needed more time to set up a complicated rope system to reach the water.

Rescue and emergency crews returned to Palouse Falls on Tuesday, with divers going into the pool above the falls.

The water is still very cold and high this spring and the location being searched was not far from the top of the falls.

“We’re concerned it is not the safest effort,” Raymond said Tuesday morning.

The river was difficult to reach. But once a diver was in the water the body was found in seven minutes despite visibility of only 12 to 14 inches because of the turbulence of the river, Bell said.

Washington State Parks has been concerned about the unmarked trails at the falls in recent years.

Visitors sometimes take off from the half-mile of state-maintained trails at the park on unofficial trails along ledges and steep cliffs, with some visitors hiking to the rapids of the Palouse River just upstream from the falls and others to above the crest of the falls or down to the base of the falls.

Temporary fencing was put up in late 2015 to keep people off potentially dangerous trails at the state park 20 miles east of Kahlotus.

The fencing was removed in 2016, and new signs were posted warning hikers of the risk of using unmarked trails.

“Travel beyond this point is on potentially hazardous trails,” the signs say. “ Users assume all risk associated with travel beyond this point. Rescue costs will be at the expense of the injured party.”

Since Raymond became sheriff at the start of 2015, his office has responded to three drownings at the falls.

But the park can be enjoyed safely, he said.

“If you stay on paths and stay away from ledges, the risk is pretty minimal,” Raymond said.

Washington State Parks is developing long-term plans for Palouse Falls State Park, prompted by increased use of the park and safety concerns.

Since Palouse Falls was named the state waterfall in 2014, more people have been drawn to the park. Visitors increased to about 120,000 a year after the governor visited the falls to sign a state waterfall bill, up from 46,000 a decade ago.

Elementary school children in nearby Washtucna drafted a bill to name Palouse the state waterfall, then lobbied with letters and a visit to the state capitol to get their bill passed.

The Palouse River flows across the desert to make the dramatic 198-foot drop off basalt rock, thanks to geology carved by Ice Age floods.

This story was originally published May 30, 2017 at 9:55 AM with the headline "He wanted a selfie with his girlfriend at Palouse Falls. Tuesday they recovered his body after he slipped.."