Sharp eyes save woman clinging to rocks

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) - First responders rappelled down into the Niagara Gorge Friday afternoon to rescue a woman clinging to rocks near the Whirlpool rapids.

At first, members of the Gates family, who spotted the middle-aged woman, were not sure if she was alive. The woman was in the water clinging to a rock and was not moving.

Terry Gates said, "We kept noticing she was clinging to a rock, not moving, appeared to be in the water."

"And we looked through the binoculars and I just screamed, 'Oh my God! That person's dead!' The way her neck was hanging down... And then all of a sudden we saw her arm move like she was trying to pull herself out of the water and that's when we screamed, 'Oh my God! Thank God! That person's alive!'" recounted Vanessa Gates.

Brian Gates then called 911.

"Once we described our location, the State Park, the dispatcher seemed to react quickly," he said.

Vanessa added, "And then I just kept praying the whole time, thinking, 'Please God, just let them get to her before she lets go.'"

She was in the water for around a half an hour. A State Park Police officer was nearby and ran down more than 200 stone stairs into the gorge, and then a half a mile down a trail, to get to where he could pull her out of the water. She was conscious and alert and Niagara Falls firefighters then helped carry her to a flatter, less rocky spot.

NYS Park Police Major David Page said, "Through good pre-planning, we know these things happen and we have a designated landing zone for aviation in the gorge just a short distance from where she was in the water."

The Erie County Air 1 helicopter lifted the woman safely out of the gorge.

"Stay away from hazardous things whenever you can, even if you're attracted by the beauty of the water or whatever, just stay back in a safe location," Major Page said.

Especially because you can't always depend on a sharp eye spotting you from above.

Terry said, "I think my binoculars paid for themselves today and thank God for the use of cellphones."

The woman was taken from the scene by ambulance. She is recovering from hypothermia, but first responders say she is expected to be okay. Her name has not been released.

Although the area is open to public access, it is unclear how she ended up in the water.