University of Kentucky student found dead at bottom of cliff at Red River Gorge

Published 11:10 am Wednesday, May 5, 2021

A 24-year-old University of Kentucky student who went hiking at Red River Gorge has been found dead at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff, authorities said.

Powell County Search and Rescue said in a statement that the organization was notified Tuesday that the woman had gone hiking Monday and did not return. Crews were able to ping the woman’s phone and watch to get GPS coordinates and began searching for her in the Auxier Ridge area, the statement said.

“We did not get the results that we wanted,” officials said.

Authorities believe the woman got too close to the edge of the cliff and fell, Powell County Search and Rescue spokeswoman Lt. Lisa Johnson told WDRB-TV.

It was the second fall crews responded to at the gorge in 24 hours, Johnson said. A man fell Monday night from a nearby cliff and was taken to the University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington.

Johnson urged hikers to not get too close to cliff edges because they can give way when the ground is wet and can crumble when the ground is dry.