Man Rescued From 45-Foot Cliff At Paint Creek

Thursday, August 13, 2020
by Ron P. Metcalfe

Greeneville Emergency & Rescue Squad volunteers spent the better part of last night rescuing a man from the rock cliffs at Paint Creek.

The Squad was called to the Dudley Falls area of Paint Creek just after 11:00 PM to find a man with disabled arms at the top of the cliff. Rescue Squad Captain Kevin Ayers said that the man had wanted to jump from the rocks into the water below, and had been helped into that position by friends. When the man reached an area about 45 to 50 feet above the water, he changed his mind about jumping. He was unable to climb back down and those who had helped him to the high point had left him there. Fortunately, someone called 9-1-1 as they left to report the stranded man.

Ayers said when they arrived, there was one person still there who said he was a friend of the man on the cliff, but had not helped him climb up. The man offered to try to talk the man into climbing down, but the man refused. Ayers and fellow squadsman Phil Haffke crossed Paint Creek and climbed the ridge above the man, and then climbed down to his position. Using ropes and a basket, the man was lowered to the water into a boat with more volunteers from the Rescue Squad.

Ayers said the entire operation took almost five hours, with responders clearing the scene around 4:30 this morning. Greene County EMS was on the scene but the man did not need transport for any injuries.