Record snowfall has led to record melting which has led to increased river current. We believe it has been described as possibly two men and one woman that plunged from the 317 feet high falls onto the rocky surface at the bottom-we couldn't get any further than a quote from the link below from an eyewitness: "I saw the man's eyes when he went over the falls. That was devastating." That CNN picture above represents the actual 'Vernal Falls'...devastating, indeed. The chill down your spine may be as cool as anything else you experience the next few days.http://www.cbs47.tv/news/local/story/Three-Hikers-Swept-Over-Vernal-Fall-in-Yosemite/q7NswlIHv0aImORkmYngtA.cspx {A television local CBS affiliate's article-with the actual quote we presented above verbalized, and great video of the falls, and the spot where the victims are described as 'falling in' not 'going in' and a panicked woman running along the shoreline screaming for help for her friends. It is suggested they were part of a large party that went over a sfety rail to get a better picture...way scary, and now way reckless..A commenter to this post indicates the level of recklessness, and also suggests the man eaten by a Yellowstone bear a few weeks ago was actually hiking with his wife on a 'Closed Trail.' Charles Darwin, red courtesy phone-Charles Darwin, red courtesy phone, please.}
http://aliveinthechesapeake.blogspot.com/2011/07/grizzly-fatally-mauls-yellowstone-hiker.html {Our recent article on the Yellowstone grizzy mauling}
2:00 P.M. UPDATE: For any hikers, you may know this may not be an easy recovery effort. We include a new CNN link below which describes how the participants apparently intentionally went over redundant security barriers-at least multiple signage and a railing, to possibly obtain a family photo, or just generally got caught in the stronger hi-snow melt current by merely getting too close for whatever reason. It sounds like one fell. One jumped in to try to save. And then the third possibly fell in. The CNN link also has about 300 comments, and man we can't believe the cruelty of some of the comments. Let's say our little Charles Darwin joke is the Diet Coke of cruel jokes on this issue FROM AROUND THE NATION/WORLD! There is also good stuff from some more polite readers regarding the 'slip and fall portion' on Mista Trail-named by the commenter as the probable site, and this can be notorious even in normal, let alone flood melt-swollen, current trail conditions. Another sound commenter indicated that he was present one summer during a rescue/recovery where it took some time to extract the single victim from the rocks, who would have been visible to hikers and the trail was closed until cleared-Park Rangers indicated that often the missing are never found during late Spring/early summer melt-offs due to the barrenness and natural difficult logistics of the inevitable landing area. The hikers, yet to be identified, have actually beend deemed 'deceased' by the Park service due to a simple facts and circumstances test.