Karen Gose, 27 of Chino, died of injuries sustained while descending a sheer face of Suicide Rock in Idyllwild’s San Jacinto wilderness. Gose, reportedly a counselor with a church camp, fell 30 feet during a rappelling demonstration, onto a rock ledge.
CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department responded, as did Idyllwild Fire Protection District, although IFPD did not participate in the rescue.
The reported time of injury was 12:41. CAL FIRE Copter 301 lowered a medic to the rock ledge. He attended to the woman and prepared her for a helicopter hoist. She complained of difficulty breathing and was thought to have had a broken hip and possible rib damage. At approximately 2:50 p.m. she was hoisted into the helicopter. The copter circled and returned for a hoist of the medic.
At approximately 3:04 p.m. attending personnel transferred Gose into a Mercy Air helicopter for transport to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs. She died en route, with time of death listed as 3:21 p.m.
