/ WSIP AM 1490 | CBS Sports
May 7, 2021 5:57 AM
Officials in Powell Co have identified the person found deceased after an apparent fall at the Red River Gorge earlier this week. Powell Co Search and Rescue said 24-year-old Gabriella “Gabby” Smith, of Alexandria, Ky., slipped and fell from a roughly 150-foot ledge while hiking alone near the Auxier Ridge trail area. Officials were alerted that Smith, a medical student at the University of Kentucky, might be in danger when she left for the hike Monday afternoon and did not return. Search and rescue members were able to ping Smith’s phone to get her last known location to get GPS coordinates before searching the Auxier Ridge area with the help of the Wolfe Co Search and Rescue Team and the Tri-Community Fire Department.
Authorities believe the
UK student got too close to the edge of the cliff and fell, Powell County Search and Rescue spokeswoman
Lt. Lisa Johnson told
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.
Gabriella ‘Gabby’ Smith University of Kentucky student hiking along Red River Gorge falls 150ft to her death. Body found. Image via Red STAR Wilderness EMS
Selfie stick
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.
Hiker found dead in apparent fall at Red River Gorge was NKY native
U.S. Forest Service-Daniel Boone National Forest
Red River Gorge
and last updated 2021-05-05 12:00:26-04
A hiker found dead after an apparent fall at Red River Gorge has been identified as a University of Kentucky medical student from Northern Kentucky, search and rescue officials confirmed to WCPO.
Gabriella Gabby Smith, 24 of Alexandria, was found by a Powell County Search and Rescue squad at the bottom of a 150-foot drop near the Auxier Ridge area.
Agency spokesperson Lt. Lisa Johnson said Smith was reported missing Monday after her family lost contact with her.