An ex-Marine vacationing with a friend in Northeast Georgia fell to his death from a waterfall Thursday. Kelly Heath Boyd of Dayton, Ohio, was fatally injured when he plunged about 20 feet to the base of Tabor Falls in the Lake Russell Wildlife Management Area.
Habersham County Coroner Kasey McEntire says the 29-year-old Boyd died of apparent internal injuries resulting from the fall. His death has been ruled accidental.
Boyd’s friend called 911 shortly after 5 p.m. on April 7. After initially being dispatched to the wrong location, rescuers arrived at the trailhead at 5:38 p.m. They reached the couple about an hour later and found Boyd alive but suffering from “significant traumatic injuries,” says Habersham County Emergency Services Capt. Matt Ruark.
Unable to airlift him from the area due to the location and tree cover, HCES asked Rabun County SAR to help extricate Boyd from the bottom of the ravine.
“He initially was still alive but not coherent – not knowing where he was,” says McEntire. Boyd went into cardiac arrest soon after rescuers arrived.
“While attempting to extricate the victim – due to the difficulty and location – resuscitation efforts were terminated per medical control,” Ruark says.
It took nearly five hours for crew members to recover Boyd’s body. The coroner pronounced him dead at the scene. His body will be sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Atlanta for an autopsy.
Boyd had recently left the Marines and begun traveling, McEntire says. He and his friend were in Pensacola, Florida, when they decided to take a vacation to the mountains and wound up in Northeast Georgia.
Pinpointing the location
Ruark tells Now Habersham that initially there was confusion about the location of the accident because the 911 call connected to Rabun County. The caller advised they were at the base of a waterfall.
“Due to that information, it was believed to be Panther Creek,” Ruark says.
When units arrived at Panther Creek, Habersham dispatchers relayed updated information to them. The woman caller told dispatchers they were at the base of Tabor Falls in the Lake Russell Refuge, approximately 13 miles to the southeast of Panther Creek in Mt. Airy.
Ruark says there was “minimal delay” caused by the confusion. “No crews had been sent into the woods to attempt to locate them before we were notified of the new location.”
He adds, “Due to the location of the victim and the technical nature of the rescue, I do not feel there would have been a change of the outcome.”
Thursday’s rescue and recovery operations highlight the dangers people face while exploring wilderness areas. It also highlights the challenges first responders face in a region full of backwoods hiking trails, waterfalls, and ravines.
As more people travel to Northeast Georgia to enjoy its scenic beauty this spring and summer, public safety officials urge caution.
“Please stay on marked trails. When you start going to locations based on coordinates versus known trails it makes it difficult to locate subjects in case of emergency.”
