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Oregon hiker falls from cliff while looking for shortcut

Rescue personnel found Samuel Bedell on a small ledge at the base of a cliff. He was lifted about 40 feet in a litter and taken to a Bend hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Smith Rock State Park (photo: Google Maps street view)

BEND, Ore. — A Bend, Oregon hiker was rescued after falling at Smith Rock State Park while searching for a shortcut to the parking lot.

The Bend Bulletin reports that Caitlin Richmond called 911 at 5:30 p.m. Saturday to report her husband, Samuel Bedell, had fallen at the lower gorge near the park's north point parking lot.

The Deschutes County Sheriff's Office said rescue personnel found Bedell on a small ledge at the base of a cliff. He was lifted about 40 feet in a litter and taken to a Bend hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The sheriff's office says Bedell was in a group of six hikers who crossed the Crooked River in search of a shortcut back to the parking lot.

They were looking for a ladder to get to the top of a cliff when Bedell fell.

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