Last week, Olympic National Park teams versed in technical and swiftwater rescue worked to recover an 18-year-old man’s body that was located below Sol Duc Falls on June 9.

Recovery efforts included lowering multiple responders into the narrow canyon. Attempts to recover the submerged body were unsuccessful. Rangers faced high river flows in the 7 to 8 foot wide canyon due to recent warm temperatures and rapid snowmelt. The park’s priority is to safely complete this recovery as soon as conditions allow. Rangers will continue to monitor the target area, natural hazards, and changing conditions. Recovery operations will resume when it is safe to do so.

He fell June 8 after he was last seen walking across slippery rocks at the top of the 50-foot waterfall, according to park officials.

The park visitor lost his footing and fell to the bottom of the falls, park rangers said.

A body was spotted the next day “completely submerged” and “pinned between the first and second falls,” rangers said.

Rangers said they believe it belongs to the man.

The hike to Sol Duc Falls is 1.6 miles round trip with an elevation gain of about 200 feet, according to the Washington Trails Association.

“Depending on water volume, Sol Duc Falls splits into as many as four channels as it cascades 48 feet into a narrow, rocky canyon,” the association says.

Olympic National Park thanked all who contributed to the initial response: Forks Ambulance, Forks Swiftwater, Olympic Ambulance, Clallam 2 Fire-Rescue (Clallam County Fire District 2), the Port Townsend and Sequim police departments, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and Kitsap Search Dogs.