Where is Multnomah Falls? Hiker dies after falling 100 feet at a popular trail

On Saturday, July 1, a 40-year-old man died after falling 100 feet from a popular trail in Multnomah Falls. The man was with his wife and children when the accident took place. Approximately 10 miles away from Corbett, Oregon, the waterfall is located on Multnomah Creek in the Columbia River Gorge.

The death of the 40-year-old on the Multnomah Falls trail is currently being investigated by the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and the Corbett Fire District. Officials have stated that it was most likely an accident and that no foul play was involved in the incident.

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The most recent death at Multnomah Falls

According to CNN, the man who died in the July 1st accident was a father from Beaverton, in Oregon's Greater Portland Metro Area. At the time of the incident, he was hiking with his wife and five children. John Plock, a spokesperson for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, described the accident.

Plock said:

"Mom, dad, five kids all here enjoying a beautiful day at Multnomah Falls and unfortunately a tragic accident happened. At one point on the trail, the father slipped and fell down an embankment.”

Plock continued:

“He slid down a steep hill and then fell off a cliff. We estimate it was a 100 to 150-foot fall.”

After the victim fell, his family could no longer see the body. 45 minutes after he was reported missing, officials found the victim dead near the trail.

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Deaths in Multnomah Falls

The US Forest Service said that the waterfall, which is one of the primary attractions near the Columbia River Gorge, attracts over 2 million visitors on an annual basis. At 620 feet, it is the tallest waterfall in Oregon. According to USA Today, the death of the unnamed 40-year-old man occurred almost a year after the August 2022 death of a woman on the Multnomah Falls-Larch Mountain Trail.

In an interview with KPTV, Canadian tourist Stephanie Weinstein discussed the dangerous aspects of the waterfall's walking trails.

Weinstein said:

"It's terribly devastating. It hit us hard to know that happened here. My teenage son really likes to go to the edge of trails, horrible things could happen. I'm sending all my prayers and my thoughts to them."

Chris Liedle, a public official and spokesperson for the site, said that investigating accidental deaths at the site of the waterfall can be difficult. He added that investigators must often rely on various contradictory accounts from witnesses.

Liedle said:

“Witness statements are also based on their familiarity with an area and memory, which is often tested during a very traumatic event. All these factors can lead to some ambiguity. Our team does its best to piece all the fragments into a complete, or more complete story."

In reference to the 2022 death of another hiker on a nearby trail, Liedle said that they are having difficulty probing the accident since no one witnessed the fall. The death was reported to officials after the body was discovered hours after the witnesses' death.

Liedle said:

“To date, no one has come forward to say they witnessed the actual fall, so there just isn’t information available to determine what led up to the fall."

In the vast majority of cases, the deaths linked to Multnomah Falls are generally labeled accidental. And, in certain instances, such as the 1996 death of a Virginia woman, the cases are ruled as suicides.