Grueling rescue saves Ozark man from cliff

Zach Collette heard the rocks high above him crumble, then the agonizing scream of his hiking pal — followed by an awful thud.

Sunday afternoon, Collette's climbing buddy Camron McLaughlin lay motionless on a rock ledge with two smashed vertebrae in his lower back after falling backwards 25 feet near the top of a cliff.

"I couldn't see him or reach him, but he was pretty responsive," said Collette, "He said he was in a lot of pain and that he didn't think he could walk. It was a straight fall backwards and he just hit rocks."

Collette, 20, of Springfield, and McLaughlin, 21, from Ozark, were climbing near Hemmed in Hollow along the Buffalo National River. They were enjoying unusually warm weather ahead of a cold front that would sweep in later that night. Collette said they had hiked the area before.

"We were just on a hike down to the (Hemmed in Hollow) falls when we saw a path to our left up a 100-foot hill," Collette recalled. "It was steep but it wasn't rock climbing. We got up there and found some pretty cool rock ledges five to 10 feet apart going up the cliff. I got up to the third ledge but didn't want to go any higher."

McLaughlin, however, said he saw a pretty big cliff face that he wanted to try.

"We were just free-climbing probably 200 feet up off the valley floor — that 100-foot hill then 100 feet of ledges," Collette said. "We were close to the falls on an outcrop to the left of Hemmed in Hollow. I had normal hiking shoes on and Camron had hiking boots and we had hydration packs, but that's about it. We didn't have any climbing gear."

In an instant their world changed. Beyond Collette's view, McLaughlin jammed his boot into an opening in the rock, somehow lost his balance and fell backward. After realizing his friend had fallen, Collette tried his cell phone, to call for help. No signal.

Collette worked his way back down the cliff and took off running, covering about three miles on the Compton Trail before his phone responded.

He dialed 911.

"Probably 20 minutes later the first medics showed up," Collette said. "They eventually got a team up top and a team below and set up ropes down the cliff side. They tied Camron in a litter basket and started lowering him down by a rope, with one guy going down with him. About halfway down his pain got worse and the paramedic gave him some pain meds."

During the rescue, a strong cold front began sweeping through northern Arkansas. With daylight fading, Collette said he saw snowflakes swirling in the air. Rescuers wrapped McLaughlin in a blanket to prevent hypothermia, while Collette — wearing only shorts, a tank top and hiking shoes — was given a pair of firefighter pants and and a search-and-rescue jacket.

"During the rescue the temperature went from 66 degrees down to 35," Collette said.

The Buffalo National River Search and Rescue team worked to retrieve McLaughlin from the ledge in the middle of a sheer bluff face. They lowered him about 30 feet down the cliff to a waiting team that moved him down the steep hill to the trail below.

Once on the trail, rescuers attached a wheel to McLaughlin's litter and began a grueling trek back up the trail.

"Eighteen people took turns pulling him out of the canyon," Collette said. "They'd push for a while then switch to some fresh guys. It was 3 a.m. before they got him to an ambulance."

McLaughlin was taken to a Harrison, Ark., hospital, then airlifted to Mercy hospital in Springfield.

His dad, Chris McLaughlin, said his son suffered a cracked L4 vertebra in his lower back and a crushed L5 vertebra. Fortunately, there appears to be no paralysis and he is able to move his legs. Surgeons planned to install a metal plate in his back Tuesday afternoon.

"We knew something was up when he hadn't arrived home by dark," Chris McLaughlin said. "We knew he and Zach were going off on an adventure and that usually means somewhere in Arkansas."

At 6 p.m. Sunday he said he got a call from Zach's father alerting him that there had been an accident and a rescue was underway.

"We are Christians so my wife (April) and I prayed for the storms to stay away long enough for Camron to get rescued," Chris McLaughlin said. "The most amazing thing about this story is that so many selfless people and agencies came together to help our son, including the Red Cross who came out to help all of them stay warm, with food and drink. God is good! For our family this has been amazing to see."

Chris McLaughlin said he has talked with his son about the accident and how it happened.

"He said he got towards the top and knew he had got in way over his head," Chris McLaughlin said. "When he fell, he said he closed his eyes and just waited to hit the ledge below. He tried to land in a way that he wouldn't fall off again."

In addition to the Buffalo National River protection rangers, groups participating in this operation included Alpena Volunteer Fire Department, Arkansas Forestry Commission, Boone County Sherriff's Office, Carroll County Sherriff's Office Rescue Team, Compton Volunteer Fire Department, Harrison Fire Department, Mennonite Disaster Services, National Park Service Fire Module, Newton County Sherriff's Office, North Ark Regional Medical Center Ambulance, Tri-County Search and Rescue, and the Steel Creek Campground Hosts.

In all, about 51people were involved in McLaughlin's rescue.