PHOENIX – A 44-year-old woman died this week after falling off a cliff in the Arizona wilderness, officials said Wednesday.
A friend reported that Jennifer Petri fell 20 feet before 4 p.m. Monday, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
The caller said Petri couldn’t see her after she collapsed. They were in an area known as “The Bluffs,” about 200 feet above West Clear Creek.
of West Clear Creek Wilderness The area is in the Coconino National Forest about 100 miles north of downtown Phoenix and 15 miles east of Camp Verde.
The steep and dangerous terrain made it difficult for rescue teams to search the area, according to YCSO.
Deputies using binoculars spotted the victim just above the water’s surface at the foot of the cliff.
Arizona Department of Public Safety arrived at the scene in a Ranger helicopter and determined Petri was dead before they could airlift the body out of the canyon.
YCSO said it was investigating how Petri fell. No other information was available.
