LAKE TOXAWAY, N.C. (WNCN) — A TV news anchor died in a fall at a North Carolina waterfall on Thursday afternoon, officials say.
Taylor Terrell, an anchor at a Macon, Ga. TV station WMGT, died after the fatal 185-foot plunge, according to the TV station.
Lake Toxaway Fire Department Chief Carmon West tells local media outlets that the woman and a friend were in the water at the top of Rainbow Falls in Transylvania County on Thursday when her companion turned around to discover that Terrell had disappeared.
Terrell was wading in a creek at the top of Rainbow Falls when she lost her footing on rocks covered in algae. She says the swift current swept Terrell over the falls, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Cathy Dowd say.
Firefighters responded to the scene about 4 p.m. and the victim’s body was recovered more than four hours later.
Emergency workers could only reach the remote area in the Pisgah National Forest by foot.
This marks the third death after someone fell from a waterfall in Transylvania County since May, according to Lake Toxaway Deputy Chief Bobby Cooper.
WMGT says Terrell was scheduled to be off Friday to celebrate her 25th birthday.
“To say that this loss is devastating for us here at (WMGT) and to her family is an understatement,” the TV station wrote in a story about the incident.— The Associated Press and WSPA-TV contributed to this report
