Man falls about 30 feet at Q'emiln Park

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff writer

POST FALLS — A 21-year-old Coeur d'Alene man suffered multiple injuries when he slipped on a slick rock and fell about 30 feet over a cliff at Q'emiln Park on Friday night, according to police.

Zach Cecil, who was transported to Kootenai Health around 5 p.m., was in good condition on Monday afternoon.

The incident occurred near a climbing wall off the Wagon Trail in the rocky terrain of the park's hiking and climbing section, Post Falls Police Capt. Pat Knight said. Cecil complained of lower back and leg pain and suffered cuts on his left arm.

"He was with friends, got lost and, when they came to a cliff, he attempted to climb down it," Knight said. "He slipped on a mossy rock and fell on his back about 30 feet below. He's fortunate that he didn't suffer more injuries than what he did."

A passerby reported the fall to police.

"When an officer arrived, two climbers were in the parking lot waving us down," Knight said.

The climbers took responders to where the victim was.

"(Cecil) was conscious and talking" when police contacted him, Knight said. "He was stabilized until (emergency medical crews) took him out."

Knight said Cecil did not have climbing gear, so it did not appear that he'd been climbing.