A senior citizen has miraculously survived a fall into a deadly Oregon tourist cove nicknamed Devil’s Churn.
70-year-old Jack Turnock of Florida tripped while taking a photo and fell 15 feet into the dangerous strait.
He managed to swim around and clamber over a ledge, after which he had a hard race against the rising tide.
“I wasn’t even close to the edge,” Turnock told YachatsNews. “I just tripped on a rock and I went that way. I was going to take a picture and I just fell the other way and rolled off the edge.
“And my first thought when I fell was, I hope there’s no rocks under the water. That was it. Then I thought, ‘Ah… I just broke my camera.’ Then I looked around and saw a ledge and swam over to it.”
Jack Turnock, 70, tripped while taking a photo and fell 15 feet into the treacherous strait
Turnock was left with bleeding shins but miraculously unharmed as he waited for firefighters from the Yachats Rural Fire Protection District and members of other agencies to arrive.
The crew used a ladder to bridge the gap and climbed over on their hands and knees, then pulled the ladder over the gap and lowered it into Turnock.
One rescuer descended and braced himself, allowing Turnock to climb back up.
Turnock’s friend Deborah See of Santa Cruz described the harrowing moment she realized Turnock had fallen in.
“We wanted to take some pictures, so we came out here,” See said. “I was still there, so I didn’t see him fall, but I heard the splash.”
Pictured: Waves crashing against rocks at Devils Churn along the Oregon coast
“And I heard someone say, ‘Oh my God, someone fell in,’ and I looked up and I didn’t see him and I thought, ‘Oh shit.'”
See said Turnock’s physical condition kept him alive.
“He’s a tough bird,” she added. “He’s in good shape for his age and he’s a runner. I’m just so happy he’s doing well.”
According to officials, relatively calm seas and low tide were important factors in Turnock’s survival.
“Be careful,” warned Shelby Knife, assistant administrator of the Yachats Fire Department. “He’s one of the few people we’ve ever gotten out of here alive.”
Things didn’t end so well in 2021, when a 67-year-old California man attempted to jump the gorge, but slipped, hit his head and fell into the water. He drowned.