[at-l] Hiker's death in Indiana

[ATnavi@aol.com (ATnavi@aol.com)]

Last summer, I spent a wonderful week in Glenwood Springs, CO, with a 
friend's family...all very outdoors-minded. We went hiking, hiking, and more 
hiking, rafting and swimming, driving and more hiking.

I found out this afternoon that their daughter, a junior in a private high 
school in Indiana, was on a hiking trip two Sundays ago when she slipped and 
fell in a precarious spot. She's a sweet kid, but severely learning disabled, 
IQ of 73. Supposedly, the adults leading the hike (on which she was the only 
gal) told her to remain calm and they'd try and pull her back up the ledge. 
Instead, she freaked and tried to scramble up the sharp slope on her own. She 
let go of the bush that checked her fall...and fell over the cliff, 70 feet 
to her death.

As a friend, and as a group hike leader, I'm in shock. Don't know if you 
Indiana hikers heard about a hiker's death a couple of weeks ago, but I'm 
curious...what trail in Indiana has cliffs more than 70 feet tall? And what 
the hell were these guys thinking, to take learning-disabled kids out on a 
potentially dangerous trail? If you can point me to any news stories on the 
incident, I'd appreciate it. Words can't express my sorrow to see this young 
girl die during a hike, and this family shattered by it.

With heavy heart,
Navigator