Two Federal Way Teens Killed in Fall While Hiking

Two Federal Way teenagers died Sunday evening after falling from a rock near Otter Falls during a hike on the Taylor River Trail outside of North Bend, according to the King County Sheriff's Office.

The incident happened sometime Sunday afternoon or evening. A group of four teen boys was hiking the area and two of the four climbed a rock near the falls. Two of the boys fell from the rock and were seriously injured. 

The two other teens tried to help the injured boys. One ran down the trail for help. He found two other hikers on the trail that went up the trail to assist the injured boys. The teen, whose brother was one of the boys who fell and died, ran five miles down the trail until he was able to find a U.S. Forest Service employee who called 911. There's no cell service in the area, the valley of the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River, so likely the employee had to drive down the valley to call 911.

Apparently the two men who went back up the trail to help stayed with the injured boys and the other boy and made a fire to keep them warm while waiting for rescue personnel. King County Sheriff's Sergeant Cindi West said they also performed CPR on the two boys when they stopped breathing. 

The King County Sheriff’s Office received the call around 7:30 p.m. and sent Search and Rescue Unit members to the area. Snohomish County also responded with a helicopter.

When the search and rescue teams arrived the boys had already died as a result of their injuries. The boys were 16 and 18 years of age.

The names of those involved are not yet available.

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Information from the King County Sheriff's Office