Campbell County family mourns loss of daughter in hiking accident: 'She had so much to offer'
Updated: 11:16 PM EDT May 5, 2021
Gabriella Smith, 24, died after falling at Red River Gorge
Share
Updated: 11:16 PM EDT May 5, 2021
Hide Transcript
Show Transcript
ROCK IN A FREAK ACCIDENT. RANDY: IT’S TRAGIC. THAT’S REALLY THE ONLY WORDS I CAN COME UP WITH. REPORTER: A FATHER’S HEART ACHES AT THE LOSS OF HIS 24-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER. RANDY SMITH SAYS GABRIELLA SMITH, DIED IN AN ACCIDENT AT RED RIVER GORGE, FALLING 150 FEET OFF A CLIFF MONDA HER MOTHER KERENSA SMITH, SAYS THEY’VE ALL HIKED FOR YEARS. KERENSA: SHE DID EVERYTHING THAT SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE TO BE HIKING ALONE. SHE LET EVERYBODY KNOW WHERE SHE WAS GOING, WHICH TRAIL SHE WAS GOING ON, WHAT TIME SHE WAS GOING INTO THE TRAIL REPORTER: HER MOTHER SAYS SHE WAS BREAKING IN NEW BOOTS BEFORE A HIKING TRIP OUT WEST. THE FAMILY NEVER GOT A TEXT FROM GABRIELLA THAT SHE MADE IT HOME. THEY SAY HER PHONE STILL PINGED IN THE GORGE. THEY'RE GRATEFUL FOR THE SEARCH AND RESCUE CREWS WHO FOUND HER TUESDAY. RANDY: IT WAS ALSO A REMINDER AS A PARENT TO, YOU KNOW, NEVER PASS UP THAT OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO YOUR KIDS AND TELL THEM YOU LOVE THEM. REPORTER: GABRIELLA WENT TO CAMPBELL COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL, BELLARMINE UNIVERSITY AND WAS CURRENTLY STUDYING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF MEDICINE. HER PARENTS SAY SHE WAS A GO-GETTER AND WANTED TO BE A NEONATOLOGIST. IN ONE OF HER PHOTOS, SHE URGED PEOPLE TO GET THE COVID-19 VACCINE. HER PARENTS SAY NOW, THERE’S A MISSING PIECE OF THEIR FAMILY, AS THEY REMEMBER A BEAUTIFUL LIFE, LOST. KERENSA: I THINK SHE WOULD TEL US THAT WE NEEDED TO BE STRONG FOR HER SIBLINGS, FOR HER BROTHERS I THINK THAT SHE WOULD REMIND US THAT SHE’S IN A BETTER PLAC SHE WAS VERY FAITH-DRIVE REPORTER: HER PARENTS TELL ME GABRIELLA, WHO ALSO WENT BY GABI, HAS AN OLDER SISTER AND 4 YOUNGER BROTHERS. THEY SAY IT’S HEARTBREAKING EXPLAINING THIS LOSS TO A YOUNG CHIL REPORTING LIVE, DAN GRIFFIN, WLWT NEWS 5. SHEREE: DAN, DID THE FAMILY SAY IF GABRIELLA WAS FAMILIAR WITH THIS SPECIFIC TRAIL? REPORTER: THEY SAY SHE’D HIKED THE VERY SAME TRAIL TWO WEEKS BEFORE. THEY ALSO SAY PEOPLE SHOULD HI WITH A BUDDY WHEN THEY CAN, LET SOMEBODY KNOW YOUR PLAN AN ONE OTHER THING THEY POINTED OUT IS THAT PEOPLE SHOULD CARRY A WHISTLE IN CASE SOMETHING GOES WRON SHEREE: SOME GOOD INFORMATION