Man was stuck in river for days after falling off cliff, NC rescuers say

A seriously injured man found below a cliff in North Carolina’s Watauga River had been stuck there for days, rescuers say.

It’s believed he plummeted from a cliff on the west side of Beech Mountain, and landed in the boulder-filled water below.

The predicament was discovered Friday, May 29, when someone called 911 and reported seeing “a man in the river who appeared to be in distress,” according to Beech Mountain Police Department Capt. Tyler Jones.

“Sergeant Franklin and I were very close when the call came in so we were the first to arrive (on the opposite side of the river). I recognized him to be a missing person, that we had been searching for the day before,” Jones said.

“After trying to communicate with the subject and failing to do so due to the river noise we made the decision to cross the river to assess his injuries. ... The subject was severely dehydrated and said he had been in the river for a couple of days and made it to where he was found but could move and further.”

Jones and Franklin brought medical supplies and fitted the man with an IV.

Getting him to a hospital proved more challenging, Jones said. The accident site was 300 yards from U.S. 321 and the turf was treacherous, including swift water, large boulders and downed trees.

“The extraction was lengthy and difficult due to the terrain caused by Hurricane Helene, there was no access other than jumping in the water and wading around the displaced boulders,” Jones said.

Linville-Central Rescue Squad responded and worked with other first responders to create high line to lift the man and transfer him to the opposite side of the river, officials said. Avery EMS then took him to a nearby fire station to be flown out by helicopter to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, the rescue squad reports.

“The individual had taken some serious injuries when he fell,” the squad reported in a May 30 Facebook post.

Avery County Emergency Management reports the man had been missing since May 26, and was discovered by a homeowner who lives on opposite side of the river, according to the Watauga Democrat. It’s believed he fell about 20 feet and suffered injuries to his hip, wrist and ribs, the news outlet said.

Beech Mountain is about a 125-mile drive northwest from uptown Charlotte.

This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 6:14 AM.