Hiker sent final text before plunging 13,000ft down California peak

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThis just in: the New York Post reports a fifty-three-year-old hiker died after falling thirteen thousand feet down a California peak.

2. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorHank, that is a staggering distance. What do we actually know tonight?

3. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorNot a great deal, so we'll stay with what's reported. He was fifty-three, and he sent a final text before the fall.

4. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorDo we know what the text said?

5. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe report calls it a final text, and the message itself is not part of what we have. We won't guess at it.

6. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorAnd his body has been recovered?

7. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorEarly Wednesday, by Yosemite National Park's short-haul-capable helicopter, number five fifty-one, along with a crew from YOSAR.

8. 

   Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorRemind people what YOSAR is.

9. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIt's the park's search and rescue team. Short-haul generally means a rescuer hangs beneath the helicopter on a line, reaching ground where it can't land.

10. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorGround nobody can simply walk to.

11. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThat's the purpose of that kind of aircraft. How this particular recovery unfolded isn't spelled out, and we won't fill it in.

12. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorHow did the fall happen? Is that clear yet?

13. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIt's not clear yet. The report doesn't say. High peaks are unforgiving places, and conditions and footing can change quickly.

14. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorWho does this touch, beyond the family?

15. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorMostly his family and friends, whose names aren't in the report, and the rescuers who do this work in very difficult terrain.

16. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorIs anyone being blamed, the hiker, the park, anybody?

17. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorNothing in the report points blame anywhere, and it would be wrong for us to invent that. It stands as a tragedy.

18. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorWhat happens next?

19. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorNothing further has been reported yet. If officials release more about what happened, we'll bring it to you.

20. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorAnything for hikers watching tonight?

21. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe basics still hold: tell someone your route, check conditions before you go, and carry a way to reach help.

22. 

    Chip Darnell · U.S. News AnchorOur thoughts are with his family tonight.

23. 

    Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe one-sentence version: a fifty-three-year-old hiker died after a fall, Yosemite's rescue crew recovered him, and the rest is unclear.