A father and one-year-old child fell 80 feet whilst rappelling in Utah's Virgin River Gorge on Saturday afternoon, triggering a three-hour rescue operation. The incident occurred in the Cedar Pocket area near the Ghost Valley Trailhead, with emergency services from multiple agencies including Washington County Search and Rescue responding to the remote location.

The father sustained serious injuries and remains in critical condition following the fall, whilst the toddler was assisted out of the gorge by medics and transported to hospital. The mother, who was part of a group of five young children and two women, suffered a hand injury whilst pulling the rope during the accident. Officials determined that a helicopter could not safely land due to the treacherous terrain, and crews ultimately extracted the father using a rope team and rescue basket. The Beaver Dam-Littlefield Fire Department has subsequently issued warnings to climbers about the extreme dangers of the area, where the Virgin River drops an average of 70 feet per mile.