Two Fatalities Result From Water-Related Accidents

Yosemite National Park News Release

August 24, 2005
For Immediate Release

Two Fatalities Result From Water-Related Accidents in Yosemite National Park

Two visitors in Yosemite National Park have died in the last week due to water-related accidents.

Rachael Neil, 22, of Mesa. Arizona was hiking with friends on the John Muir Trail above Nevada Fall. Neil slipped while jumping from rock to rock about ¼ mile above the waterfall and was pulled down stream and underwater by the swift current. Despite attempts by search and rescue personnel, deep holes and high water conditions in the Merced River have prevented her body from being recovered. Recovery attempts will resume when water levels in the Merced River recede.

Shane Kinsella, 21, from Dublin, Ireland, fell over the top of Upper Yosemite Fall on Monday afternoon, August 23, 2005. He was posing for a photograph near the lip of the waterfall when he slipped, was unable to recover, and fell over the 1430 foot waterfall. Kinsella's body was recovered by Yosemite National Park rangers and rescue personnel in a pool at the bottom of Upper Yosemite Fall on Tuesday morning.

This is the fifth accidental death in Yosemite National Park this year.

-NPS-