ROANOKE, Va. — A hiker from the Netherlands who fell 50 feet off a cliff just north of the summit of McAfee Knob has died, emergency officials said.
Paul Classen, 23, was sitting at the edge of the cliffs past the knob on Sunday with his feet on a lower rock, said Robyn Urdaibay on the Appalachian Trail Hikers 2022 Facebook page. Classen slumped forwards and fell, Urdaibay said.
Three all-terrain vehicles and around 30 fire and rescue personnel were joined by three police officers to conduct a rescue attempt, WDBJ reported. Classen died at a local hospital that day.
McAfee Knob is considered among the most popular hiking destinations both in the Roanoke Valley and along the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail, which extends between Georgia and Maine.
The Roanoke Times reports that in July 2018, Gregg Marr Sr., 67, of Florida, slipped and fell 100 feet from the summit. He was hospitalized and died about a week later.
