Two people airlifted in 11-hour rescue operation after car plunged 250 feet off cliff
Jun 26, 2026, 10:00 AM | Updated: 3:01 pm
Two men are in critical condition after an all-night cliffside rescue in the mountains above Wilkeson, following an iPhone SOS crash notification that alerted first responders late Thursday night.
According to the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, the crash notification came in at about 10:21 p.m. on June 25, indicating a serious collision in a remote area off NF110 near T-Rex Falls, roughly 12 miles up a rugged mountain road from Wilkeson.
“This was one of the most technically challenging rescues we’ve seen in a while,” Carly Cappetto, the spokesperson for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, told KIRO Newsradio. “We had darkness, freezing temperatures, heavy fog, and a vehicle that had gone roughly 250 feet down a very steep cliff.”
Crash site found 250 feet down a cliff
Search-and-rescue teams deployed with a UTV and initially located two people walking down the remote road who said they had been in a rollover crash. They told deputies their vehicle had slid off a cliff near the top of the mountain and that the driver and front-seat passenger were still down at the crash site.
At approximately 12:35 a.m., rescuers found the crashed vehicle about 250 feet below the roadway. Two men were located near the vehicle, both in critical condition.
“Both patients had been thrown from the vehicle,” Cappetto said. “One of them was actually pinned under the engine. Getting to them safely was the first battle, and then managing their injuries on a muddy, foggy cliffside in the middle of the night was the second.”
All-night technical rescue
By 1:13 a.m., Pierce County Sheriff’s Office’s search-and-rescue team, rope technicians, volunteer search-and-rescue members, and fire personnel made contact with the victims. A volunteer doctor also hiked into the scene to help stabilize the patients while rope systems were set up on the steep terrain.
Conditions on the mountain were cold, wet, and extremely foggy, complicating both the technical rescue and the possibility of air support.
“We were hoping to use military or Coast Guard aviation assets, but the weather and terrain made every decision more complicated,” Cappetto said. “Our teams had to be prepared to either fly the patients out or move them by ground in very difficult conditions.”
Hoisting operations continued through the early morning hours. The second victim was not brought up to the road until about 7:37 a.m., nearly nine hours after the initial crash alert.
Both victims airlifted in critical condition
Once both patients were moved to safer ground, they were airlifted around 8:30 a.m. to local hospitals in critical condition. The entire operation — from the first crash notification to the final airlift — lasted nearly 11 hours.
“This was truly a team effort,” Cappetto said. “From our search-and-rescue volunteers and rope techs to fire crews and medical personnel on the cliff, everyone worked through the night to give these two men a chance to survive.”
Cell service in the area is extremely limited, and no photos or videos of the rescue were immediately available.
Despite the challenges, Cappetto noted that the initial technology-driven alert played a key role.
“If that iPhone SOS crash notification hadn’t gone out, it’s very possible no one would have known about this crash for hours, maybe longer,” she said. “In a remote, cold environment like that, time can mean the difference between life and death.”
The Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation into the crash is ongoing.
This is a developing story, check back for updates
Contributing: Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest
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