CHP Hoist Rescue: Man Spends Night on Marin Cliffside at Rodeo Beach

By Bay City News Service:

A Marin County man spent Monday night on the side of a cliff above the Pacific Ocean at Rodeo Beach before he was rescued Tuesday by a California Highway Patrol helicopter, a CHP officer said.

The 33-year-old man told his CHP rescuers he was walking on Rodeo Beach around 5 p.m. Monday when he decided to take a shortcut up the side of the cliff to reach his car parked above, CHP Officer James Andrews said.

The man was 30 feet up the cliff when he couldn't find a route to the top of the bluff 80 feet above as the tide rose and darkness set in, Andrews said.

The exhausted man did not have his cellphone with him to call for help, so he spent the night on the side of the cliff and called out to hikers for help Tuesday morning, Andrews said. The hikers called 911 and the Southern Marin Fire Protection District responded.

The Southern Marin Fire Protection District called the CHP for help at 10:50 a.m. The crew of the CHP's H-32 helicopter lowered an extraction collar to the man who put it on and was hoisted into the helicopter within two minutes, Andrews said.

The man said he had no pain or injuries when he was evaluated by a paramedic after landing, Andrews said.

(Images courtesy of the CHP)