A 44-year-old woman has died after falling 20 feet from a cliff at Coconino National Forest in Arizona.
Jennifer Petri, a mother of four from Camp Verde, was hiking with a friend and visiting her favorite spot at the national park at around 4 p.m. Monday when the tragic incident took place, the New York Post reported.
The victim dropped over a steep ledge and was “no longer visible,” her friend told officials, according to a Wednesday statement from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office.
“Just before 4 p.m. on March 27th, a call came in to the YCSO from a woman stating her friend, Jennifer Petri, 44, had fallen 20 feet off a cliff and was no longer visible,” the sheriff’s office said in the statement. “The area is known to the locals as ‘The Bluffs’ and is approximately 200 feet above West Clear Creek.”
Multiple volunteer resources, fire officials and a Department of Public Safety helicopter assisted the sheriff’s office in locating Petri.
“The terrain was steep and dangerous, making it difficult for rescuers to conduct for a search,” the sheriff’s office added.
The rescue crew surveyed the area and located the victim using binoculars. They found that Petri had landed at the base of a cliff just above the water’s edge.
The helicopter made its way to the spot and dropped off a trooper who then checked on Petri and determined that she was dead. The victim was airlifted from the area afterward.
Officials are still investigating how the woman fell off the cliff.
Petri worked as a server at Denny’s for 15 years and was described by her friend Danae Wolf as a goofy, funny and adventurous person with “the most contagious smile.”
“She was everyone’s friend,” Wolf told 12 News. “She had so much compassion for people and empathy. And it’s really something I looked up to.”
Wolf also recalled the last time she talked to Petri, whom she also described as a second mother to her.
“She was going to go for a walk, and I gave her a hug goodbye,” Wolf said. “I wish I would have hugged her a little tighter.”
According to Wolf, Petri had visited the same spot at the national park several times before her untimely demise, which unfortunately came just two days before one of her sons turned 15.
“I don’t think anyone wants to believe it,” Wolf told the outlet. “It was hard to believe.”
“I want her to be remembered for her compassion and the amazing mother that she was,” Wolf said further. “She was the glue that held her family together.”
Pixabay / woodypino
