Two men, ages 21 and 25, fell 25 feet from a rocky outcrop overlooking the beach at Panther State Park near Davenport on Wednesday afternoon. At least one of them was hurt seriously. Cal Fire helicopters responded to the incident, and airlifted both men to hospital. The first evacuee suffered a head injury and was drifting in and out of consciousness at the time of his evacuation. The second man apparently sustained a neck injury.
Joe Connors, supervising ranger for State Parks, says that the Pinnacle is a popular site for adventurers, especially because of a cave at the site that is difficult to access. Connors noted that about a dozen rescues are made at the beach site on any given year, with many of them people who have accessed the cave but who are unable to get out of it.
According to the brother of one of the young men who were injured, the two were climbing the slippery cliff side and fell. Connors, who knows the area well, advises visitors not to take risks and climb the cliffs, especially if they are not familiar with the surf, the tides, and the area in general. Most of all, he says, they should know what they are doing.
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