Little boy safely rescued after falling 70 feet down a cliff at Red River Gorge

WOLFE COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - A 4-year-old child fell 70 feet off of a cliff at the Red River Gorge on Friday.

The child had a few cuts and bruises, but for the most part, came out unscathed.

So far in 2021 Wolfe County Search and Rescue has responded to a record number of rescues.

“Obviously going through your head, kind of goes the worst case scenario in that. Being on a number of missions in that area and generally speaking, they can be pretty rough,” said Drew Stevens, Public Information Officer for Wolfe County Search and Rescue.

The story starts as a family comes to visit the gorge from out of town. After turning their back for a split second, the trip went from family fun to a nightmare.

“Cliffs in that area are not very short. Typically, you’re looking at like between 60-70 foot cliff kind of on that ridge,” said Stevens.

The young boy had fallen down the cliff, and his father sprang into action. He was trying to assist his son before swiftly calling for help.

When Wolfe County Search and Rescue arrived on the scene, they were relieved.

“Miraculously, the child was relatively unscathed. He’s kind of scraped up and bruised but otherwise generally unhurt,” said Stevens.

Of course, the little boy cried at the sight of his father, but remained in good spirits throughout it all.

“He was talkative and talked a lot about superheroes as lots of 4-year-olds are pretty big into superheroes. Asked if we were superheroes and I replied ‘no, but I think you are,’” said Stevens.

The child was checked out at the hospital, and as of this weekend, is determined to be just fine.