Hiker Falls 100 Feet, Saved by Homeless People

A Utah hiker has a few homeless people to thank for his rescue from a cliff ledge, where he spent five hours on Sunday. The 29-year-old, who set out around 4am, was walking near the base of Ensign Peak in the foothills north of Salt Lake City when he slipped and fell more than 100 feet. "He misstepped, got too close to the edge and took a slide and tumble halfway down the cliff base into the rock quarry," Salt Lake City Fire Department Battalion Chief Mark Bednarik says, per KSL. That's just "above another large drop-off," per the outlet. The department said the man injured his pelvis and leg. Yahoo reports he broke both.

The man also lost his phone in the fall, leaving him unable to call for a rescue, per KTVE. Luckily, some five hours later, a group of homeless people heard the man's cries for help and called 911, reports the Salt Lake Tribune. It was another two hours before authorities helped the man down the cliff. "We were able to find a solid tree and some rocks to hook up to, and we lowered rescuers down to him" because "he couldn't move," says Bednarik. The department later shared footage of rescuers lowering the man to the bottom of the cliff. He was then transported to the hospital. (More rescue stories.)