Tragedy has struck in Oregon. A father of three died when attempting to rescue his children and a family friend after the group fell over a cliff. Ryan Acord died a hero.
Ryan, his wife Jordan Acord, their three boys, and a friend of one of the boys were hiking in Southern Oregon. They attempted to find Secret Beach near Brookings but ended up on the wrong trail, a more dangerous path called Thunder Cove. The trail became perilous when they reached a waterfall. Three of the boys fell over the cliff to an embankment below. When Ryan attempted to get to them, he slipped and fell to the rocky beach below, losing his life in the process.
Sheriff John Ward spoke to NBC affiliate KOBI about this horrible incident. The tragic events were first put into motion when the hiking group got lost.
"They followed Google Maps and it pointed them in the wrong spot and they thought they were in the right spot so they parked and went down the wrong trail," Sheriff Ward began.
The wrong trail was easy until it wasn’t. It quickly became dangerous, but by that time it was too late.
“They got in a situation where they had to yell at the three kids, two were family and one family friend, they stopped they were out in front but by the time they yelled at them to stop they were already too late they had already fallen over the initial portion of the embankment,” Sheriff Ward continued.
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Ryan Acord saw the children go over the embankment and jumped into action. He slipped when attempting to rescue them and fell to his death. His wife called authorities for help.
First responders rappelled down to the beach and found the dad and 8-year-old Nolan Haptonstall. They had fallen around 200 feet. Ryan was declared dead at the scene. Nolan was airlifted out by a US Coast Guard helicopter to Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach.
Nolan was later transferred to Oregon Health and Science University Hospital in Portland by Air Reach. He was seriously injured but is expected to make a full recovery, according to Sheriff Ward. Ryan’s death was not in vain.
The other two children on the hike had "fallen off the upper portion of the trail." Kade Acord, 12, was located "hanging onto a small tree." He was taken to Curry General hospital by Cal Ore Life Flight Ambulance. He has since been released.
Liam Stidham, 8, was also rescued. He did not sustain any physical injuries from the incident. He was released to his mother, Jordan.
Ryan’s body was also airlifted off the beach. He is remembered as a “courageous, brave, brilliant, adventurous husband and dad.” He worked in education. His family had recently moved to Oregon from Northwest Arkansas. A GoFundMe page has been created to help his family through this difficult time.
According to Sheriff Ward, this area is known for being problematic. “We’ve had issues along that whole coastline. I can’t tell you how many times search and rescue has responded down there in the last several years because people find themselves in situations they cannot get out of,” he lamented.
