The American women who were attacked by a tourist from Michigan at a Cinderella Castle in Germany and thrown down a ravine had been ‘promised a romantic view’ by their attacker.
Kelsey Chang, 22, was discharged from hospital on Saturday in the town of Murnau am Staffelesse having suffered mere cuts and bruises from the huge fall as a tree branch caught her.
Her friend Eva Liu, 21, died after being shoved down the same steep slope by another US tourist following an attempted sexual assault at the famous Neuschwanstein castle in Bavaria.
The students were allegedly attacked by Troy B, a 30-year-old man from Lincoln Park, Michigan, who now faces murder charges and will not be extradited from Germany.
The tourist, who travelled to the country at the beginning of June and was staying at a boarding house in Oberstdorf, had tempted the women with a romantic view commonly used in selfies, before he began his assault.
Kelsey Chang (left), 22, who miraculously survived being thrown 165ft down a ravine at Germany’s ‘Cinderella’ castle has left hospital. The women were promised a ‘romantic view’ by Troy B
According to police, the women encountered the 30-year-old American tourist on a trail on or near the Marienbrucke bridge, which is hugely popular as it offers a view of the 19th century Neuschwanstein castle – which sees around 1.4million visitors per year
The two women are thought to have been attacked at around 2.40pm on Wednesday. Police say they met the man near the Marienbrucke bridge, a narrow footbridge that at its highest point crosses 300ft above a gorge – with a stream and waterfall underneath – and offers stunning views of the castle.
Police said Troy B allegedly persuaded them to follow him down a secluded trail that led to a good lookout point, where he ‘physically attacked’ the 21-year-old.
When her friend tried to intervene, he allegedly choked her and pushed her down a steep slope. Police believe ‘an attempted sexual offence’ was then committed against the 21-year-old, before she was also pushed down the slope.
She fell next to her friend some 165ft below.
The pair were airlifted away by helicopter, but the 21-year-old woman tragically died in hospital from injuries sustained in the fall.
The 30-year-old American man has been held on charges of murder, attempted murder and one sexual offence. He was seen being led away from the scene in handcuffs with video taken by another tourist showing scratches on his face.
Police said he has ‘had his say in court’ after refusing to speak to investigators. Under German law, suspects must be brought before a judge at a closed-doors hearing by the end of the calendar day after their arrest if investigators intend to keep them in custody.
The three tourists had all been staying at the same Munich hotel. The victims did not know their assailant but were on the same day trip excursion to the world-famous castle. Up to 6,000 people a day visit the castle.
Footage shows the scene from a distance, with several tourists gathered looking out at a cliff face hundreds of feet away, as the helicopter descends.
The video zooms in, and the woman becomes visible on the side of the cliff, sitting close to where the fallen tree appears to have stopped her fall.
The rescuers are lowered down towards her. Another clip MailOnline published showed one of the two women being airlifted away.
The suspect, who has been named as Troy B in German media, fled the scene, but was caught after a massive police operation involving 25 emergency vehicles on Wednesday afternoon and taken to a police station in nearby Fuessen
An American tourist who miraculously survived after being thrown 165 feet off a cliff during a sight-seeing trip to Germany’s ‘Cinderella’ castle was saved from almost certain death by a fallen tree, footage of her rescue appears to show
While the earlier clip showed the rescue efforts, the new clip contextualises the scene – and shows just how close the surviving American tourist came to falling even further down the cliff that runs to the south of Neuschwanstein castle.
Were it not the for tree, it appears she could have fallen hundreds of feet more, and would have been highly unlikely to survive.
The suspect, Troy B, fled the scene, but was caught after a massive police operation involving 25 emergency vehicles. He was taken to a police station in nearby town of Fuessen.
A witness video posted online showed a man in a T-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap being led away in handcuffs by police.
The building of Neuschwanstein Castle was completed in 1886 after almost 20 years. It is located in the Swabia region of Bavaria, close to Alps and the Austrian border.
Its construction was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who wanted a holiday home to escape to from the Bavarian capital of Munich.
He paid for the castle out of his personal fortune and through extensive borrowing, but he never saw it completed. He died in 1886, shortly before it opened.
Since then, more than 61million people have visited it.
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