700-pound boulder pins man face-down in glacier creek | US | News
This June 4, 2023, photo shows Kell Morris, left, and his wife Jo Roop, in Sandpoint, Idaho. (Image: Kell Morris via AP)
An Alaskan man miraculously survived being trapped facedown in a freezing creek by a colossal 700-pound boulder for three hours, escaping with mere minor injuries—a stroke of fortune credited equally to his wife’s swift action and sheer serendipity.
Kell Morris owes his life to his quick-thinking wife who propped his head above the chilly waters while they awaited rescue, after the tremendous rock plummeted onto him during their trek close to a secluded glacier southeast of Anchorage.
Fortune smiled twice as a sled dog tour company operating on the glacier caught wind of the emergency call and volunteered their helicopter to shuttle rescuers, given the site’s inaccessibility to regular all-terrain vehicles.
It took the combined strength of seven men and the use of inflatable airbags to free him from the weight of the boulder, as he hovered between consciousness.
Morris, aged 61, acknowledged the incredible odds of his survival. “And luckier that I have such a great wife,” he said on Thursday.
His spouse, Jo Roop, who is a former Alaska State Trooper, relocated with him to Seward, nearly 120 miles south of Anchorage, from Idaho last autumn when she accepted a role with the local constabulary.
To eschew the hustle of holiday crowds that descend upon the Kenai Peninsula enclave, they sought solace in hiking near Godwin Glacier on an isolated trail laden with enormous boulders from the glacier, said Seward Fire Chief Clinton Crites.
Kell Morris, upper right in a brown hat, trapped under a 700 pound rock near Seward, Alaska. (Image: Jason Harrington/Seward Fire Department via AP)
Morris recalled spotting perilous boulders, some tipping the scales at nearly 1,000 pounds, strewn along the creek’s edge and steered clear of them as much as possible until hitting an impassable patch.
“I was coming back and everything, the whole side slid out from under me,” he said.
The experience quickly became a whirlwind for him as he plummeted down the slope about 20 feet, eventually coming to rest face first in the stream.
It was then that the boulder crashed onto his back, an event Crites likened to “basically an avalanche of boulders.”
Crites emphasised how Morris’s position upon landing, with stones beneath him, between his legs, and surrounding him, bore the brunt of the boulder’s weight, sparing him from being squashed. However, the enormous rock still left him immobilised, and Morris braced for tremendous agony in his left leg, anticipating his femur to shatter.
“When it first happened, I was doubtful that there was going to be a good outcome,” admitted Morris.
His wife attempted to extricate him for around half an hour, wedging stones under the boulder, aspiring to dislodge it off him, before departing to locate mobile phone reception.
The creek near Seward, Alaska, where Kell Morris was trapped under a 700 pound rock. (Image: Jason Harrington/Seward Fire Department via AP)
Remarkably, her trek to get a cell signal only required her to cover approximately 300 yards, whereupon she used her knowledge gained in law enforcement to send exact GPS coordinates to the emergency services.
A volunteer from the adjacent Bear Creek Fire Department, while working at a sled dog tourism business, responded to an emergency call by rerouting a tourist helicopter to the rescue scene. Firefighters, unable to get their all-terrain vehicles across a rocky expanse, disembarked from the chopper.
Morris, suffering from hypothermia due to icy glacial waters, was being supported by his wife when help arrived.
“I think if we hadn’t had that private helicopter assist us, it would have taken us at least another 45 minutes to get to him, and I’m not sure he had that much time,” Crites said.
To free Morris, firefighters employed air bags typically used in vehicle extractions, lifting the boulder just enough.
“But then it just became an all-hands brute force of ‘one, two, three, push,’ ” Crites said. “And seven guys were able to lift it enough to pull the victim out.”
An Alaska National Guard helicopter subsequently hoisted them from the creek bed using a rescue basket.
After spending two nights in hospital for observation, Morris miraculously emerged without a scratch.
“I fully anticipated a body recovery, not him walking away without a scratch on him,” Crites said.
Now safe at home, Morris contemplates the incident as a potential sign to ease up on such risky endeavours given his age.
“I was very lucky. God was looking out for me,” he acknowledged.
He and his spouse have vowed to keep to familiar paths on their hiking getaway this weekend.
“We’re going to stop the trailblazing,” he said.
