Overview
- The person, a 19-year-old, fell an estimated 25 to 30 feet to a rocky shelf south of Panther Beach after losing footing on the cliff, according to Cal Fire and local agencies.
- Firefighters, California State Parks personnel, Santa Cruz Fire volunteers and medical responders packaged and stabilized the patient on the shelf before an aerial extraction.
- Cal Fire BEU Copter 610 hoisted the injured person to the flat bluffs above, where a Stanford Medicine air ambulance transported them to a nearby hospital.
- Authorities say the patient was in stable condition and expected to be okay after the transfer, and Cal Fire used the incident to urge people to stay off cliffs, bluffs and coastal rocks because strong winds and large waves increase the danger.
- Panther Beach is a secluded cove about 10 miles north of downtown Santa Cruz known for steep bluffs and dramatic rock formations, and technical rescues there commonly require multi-agency coordination and helicopter hoists.