UPDATE: Teen Hiker Critically Injured In 50-foot Fall In Little Cottonwood Canyon Remains Unresponsive

LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah, July 6, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — The condition of an 18-year-old hiker — who suffered head and internal injuries Wednesday in a 50-foot fall from Lisa Falls — has not improved significantly since she she was transported, unconscious, by a medical helicopter to an area hospital.

Abby Ward, a University of Utah chemistry student and Brighton High graduate, has not regained consciousness, according to a Facebook update posted by P. Daniel Ward, her father.

“A brief update as of 12 a.m.,” Daniel Ward wrote on Thursday morning. “The sedation has been off for about 8 hours, but she has not woken up yet.”

Ward offered another update a few hours later, saying that although Abby’s condition had not improved overnight, it also had not worsened.

Unified Police spokesman Lt. Lex Bell said that on Wednesday, rescue crews were called to to the scene of Lisa Falls, in Little Cottonwood Canyon, at about 1:15 p.m.

Abby Ward had been hiking with her brother along a steep, mile-long trail that led to the falls before she slipped and fell, a distance equivalent to about five stories, into the water below.

Daniel Ward reported on Facebook that his daughter had sustained brain trauma from the fall and from lack of oxygen while she was submerged in the pool at the bottom of the falls, while her brother raced to reach her.

“As soon as Jake got down to her, he was able to pull her and her partially submerged face mostly out of the water, but we don’t now how long she might have been without oxygen before that time,” Ward wrote. “She has not regained consciousness since the fall.”

Ward praised his son’s fast action.

“Whatever degree of recovery we can expect her to make is due to his quick and rational thinking that most likely saved her life and has at least given her a chance at recovery.”

Ward wrote that in addition to some degree of brain injury, Abby has a liver laceration, a penetrating abdominal wound, facial fractures, damage to several vertebrae, and other lacerations and skin wounds.

“The thing she needs more than anything else is your continued prayers and love,” Ward wrote to Facebook friends. “We love you all and so much appreciate your thoughts, kind words and prayers.”