Man rappels down waterfalls, then gets stuck behind one for 2 days, CA cops say
.jpeg "A 46-year-old man from Long Beach, California, was hoisted into a helicopter after being trapped behind a waterfall for days, deputies said.")
A man spent two nights trapped behind a waterfall after rappelling into a California canyon, deputies said.
The 46-year-old was last seen Aug. 10 at the top of the Seven Teacups waterfalls in the Sequoia National Forest, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said in an Instagram post.
He had planned to rappel down into the falls, but he never returned to his car, deputies said.
So search teams began looking for the Long Beach man, and “using aircraft equipped with camera and infrared technology” to find where he might be, deputies said.
During the early morning of Aug. 12, rescuers sent a drone behind a large waterfall and found him alive, deputies said.
He got trapped behind the waterfall due to the “extreme hydraulics of the river,” deputies said.
A video shows him being hoisted into a helicopter.
The man was treated for “minor injuries and dehydration” and was greeted by his family at the scene, deputies said.
The Seven Teacups are a series of waterfalls and pools that are in Dry Meadow Creek before it forks into the Kern River.
These naturally carved-out pools resemble seven teacups.
The hike to the waterfalls is about 4.2-miles out-and-back, according to AllTrails.
Anyone considering going into the teacups should know it’s an “expert-rated canyoneering route,” the hiking guide said.
“Do not continue beyond this route and into the Seven Teacups without extensive canyoneering experience and proper equipment,” AllTrails said.
This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Man rappels down waterfalls, then gets stuck behind one for 2 days, CA cops say."
