Two parents are dead and one of their sons is critically injured after the family fell off a cliff while they were hiking, leaving one child looking for help.
The bodies of Amanda Green, 35, and William Green, 33, were found by other hikers after they fell 200 feet into a gorge in the Zoar Valley in New York, on Sunday.
Their four-year-old son Alexander also plummeted to the ground with his parents, sustaining life-threatening injuries in the fall.
Emergency responders rushed the little boy to the hospital but found a pair of sneakers too large to be Alexander’s, prompting them to look for a second child.
Jacob Green, seven, was found wandering the gorge floor with a broken arm and ankle without his shoes about six hours after his family was found .
Amanda Green, 35, and William Green, 33, (pictured together left) died after they fell off a cliff in the Zoar Valley in New York, on Sunday. Their son Alexander, four, (far right) also fell with them and is in critical condition. Jacob Green, seven, (right, left) was found six hours later with a broken ankle
The family had been hiking together when at least of the three family members plummeted at least 200 feet down to the gorge floor. Hikers found them on a ledge near a creek. Pictured: William with his two sons in November
Emergency responders rushed Alexander to the hospital but found a pair of sneakers too large to be Alexander’s, prompting them to look for Jacob. Pictured: Paramedics taking one of the boys to the hospital via helicopter
Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard said Amanda and William, both of Buffalo, were found dead by other hikers, who alerted authorities shortly before 1pm.
The three family members were found on a low ledge a few feet above a creek at the base of the cliff they had fallen from, reported Buffalo News.
Officials believe they had fallen at least 200 feet from a cliff in a section of the valley that has some of the highest cliffs in the gorge.
Alexander was found alongside his parents but was in critical condition. He was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital where he remains in intensive care, Eric Country Sheriff spokesperson Scott Zylka said to WBEN.
Officials are still investigating how the family fell from the cliff and plummeted into the gorge.
Officials are still investigating how the family fell from the cliff and plummeted into the gorge
Alexander (right)was found alongside his parents but was in critical condition. He was taken by helicopter to a nearby hospital where he remains in intensive care. Jacob (right) had a broken right arm and a broken ankle. He was found six hours after his family was found without shoes
Authorities found a pair of sneakers that were too big to belong to Alexander, prompting them to realize there was a second child with the family.
Jacob was later found walking the gorge floor around 6pm and was taken to the hospital with a minor head injury, broken arm and ankle.
Police don’t know if Jacob was with his family when they fell or if he also fell off the cliff.
The Zoar Valley, on the Erie-Cattaraugus county line 35 miles south of Buffalo, is a popular hiking and kayaking spot, with scenic cliffs as high as 400 feet and the whitewater Cattaraugus Creek running through the gorge.
The gorge has been the scene of several rescue operations in recent years after hikers got hurt or became lost.
The Zoar Valley, on the Erie-Cattaraugus county line 35 miles south of Buffalo, is a popular hiking and kayaking spot, with scenic cliffs as high as 400 feet and the whitewater Cattaraugus Creek running through the gorge