50-foot fall at Eastern Oregon waterfall kills 21-year-old. Crews rescue 2 others

A pre-holiday outing turned tragic for three Oregon men when they fell 50 feet from a ledge and could not hike out of the forest on their own.

One injured man managed to get to an area with cell service about 12 hours after the accident and called 911, but his friend, 21-year-old Cody Gene Watson, died waiting for help.

A Black Hawk helicopter crew with the Oregon Army National Guard in Salem, Ore., was called in to help.

Local, state and federal rescue crews eventually were able to reach the group Friday, both by air and on foot, and hoisted out Kyler Carter and Braydon Postma so they could be flown to a central Oregon hospital.

Postma, 23, reportedly had critical injuries and was in need of immediate medical care.

Carter, 23, made the 911 call, then returned to his friends. He also was seriously injured in the fall, according to the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office.

Facebook posts show Watson and Postma have served in the military.

Watson’s body was recovered Saturday morning when a second Black Hawk crew with the Oregon Army National Guard was able to return to the scene.

Members of the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team, or UMASAR, had stayed with his body overnight until he could be recovered.

Updated conditions on Postma and Carter were not immediately available Tuesday.

‘Coordinated effort’

“Thank you to all the responders that assisted in this coordinated effort,” said a news release. “Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office extends sincere condolences to the family of Cody Watson.”

All three men are from Pilot Rock, a city in Umatilla County with about 1,500 residents. It’s 80 miles south of the Tri-Cities and about 15 miles south of Pendleton.

The news release said the trio had been “recreating at the Big Falls on West Birch Creek,” south of Pilot Rock, when they fell. The area is described as “very steep, rocky falls.”

Carter later told authorities the accident happened about 9 p.m. Thursday.

There is no cell service near the falls. He managed to climb back out of the area and place the call to Umatilla County dispatchers about 9 a.m. Friday.

Dispatchers immediately activated UMASAR, the Pendleton Fire Department and the Life Flight Network, and notified Oregon Emergency Management.

A “hoist flight craft” was requested because of the nature of the hikers’ injuries and their location.

Search and rescue crews reached out to the U.S. Forest Service to see if any fire crews were in the area and could respond quickly, then contacted Union County Search and Rescue to mobilize its rope team. Meanwhile, Umatilla County sheriff’s deputies and the department’s K-9 unit also responded.

The Forest Service sent a short-haul helicopter from McCall, Idaho, and the Oregon Army National Guard’s Black Hawk was deployed from Salem for its hoist capability, the news release said.

An 11-man fire crew with the Forest Service was the first to reach the trio, and the team’s paramedic provided initial medical assistance to Postma and Carter.

Additional first responders hiked into the forest and planned “the careful extraction” of Postma and Carter, the sheriff’s office said.

The Black Hawk lifted out the injured and flew them to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend.

Watson’s body was handed over to Burns Mortuary of Hermiston for arrangements. The death investigation is being handled by the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office.

This story was originally published July 6, 2021 at 12:59 PM.