You are here

Home » Florida Man Killed In Fall Into Christine Falls At Mount Rainier National Park

Florida Man Killed In Fall Into Christine Falls At Mount Rainier National Park

Share
By Kurt Repanshek - September 13th, 2011

A Florida man was killed when he fell from the Comet Falls Trail down into Christine Falls at Mount Rainier National Park. Top photo depicts the area where the recovery operation was centered. Bottom shot depicts Christine Falls, with the park road crossing over it and, higher up, the trail bridge. NPS photos.

Rangers at Mount Rainier National Park worked today to recover the body of a Florida man who fell from a cliff above Christine Falls while taking pictures with his son.

About 7:15 p.m. Monday the man, 59-year-old Roger Alan Wagner, of Ocala, Florida, and his son were taking photos near the Comet Falls trail bridge that is above and upstream of the falls when he fell about 40 feet into the raging water below, park officials said this morning.

By the time rangers arrived on scene, it was too dark to safely recover the man's body from the swift, glacier-fed Van Trump Creek, they said.  During the night, Mr. Wagner’s body was swept over the 69-foot double falls, coming to rest a hundred yards downstream from the park roadway, officials noted.

The Christine Falls viewpoint was closed to the public during the recovery operation, which was to involve high-angle technical climbing.

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.