Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008

Boy Scout dies after fall during Yosemite hike

YOSEMITE -- A 12-year-old Boy Scout from Modesto died when he wandered away from his group hiking toward Upper Yosemite Fall and fell about 300 feet, a National Park Service spokeswoman said Monday.

The name of the boy wasn't released, and Yosemite officials couldn't confirm which Boy Scout troop he belonged to.

The accident occurred about 2:15 p.m. Saturday on Yosemite Falls Trail above Columbia Rock, park spokeswoman Adrienne Freeman said. The boy and another Scout got in front of their group and strayed off the trail toward the steep drop where the accident occurred.

The second Scout was not injured, Freeman said.

"There is no indication that he was doing anything wrong," she said. "It was a horrible accident."

There was snow and ice on parts of the trial, Freeman said, but not where the boy fell. Rescue teams used two routes to reach the boy's body. He was pronounced dead at 3:14 p.m.

It is the first hiking fatality of the year in Yosemite, Freeman said.