At 1:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 24, Great Smoky Mountains National Park rangers responded to a Chimney Tops overlook along Newfound Gap Road after receiving a report that a man fell approximately 50 feet below the embankment. Wesley Brandon Stedham, age 48, of Warrior, AL fell after stepping down a steep slope below the overlook for a photograph. Stedham suffered severe head trauma and passed away as a result of these injuries.
Park rangers and members of the park's technical Search and Rescue team established a rope and pulley system to reach the patient and bring him up to the overlook.
No additional details are available at this time.
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Tags: fatality search and rescue
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
