ANCHORAGE, Alaska — An extraordinary story of survival unfolded on a recent hike near a remote glacier south of Anchorage when 61-year-old Kell Morris found himself trapped under a 700-pound boulder in an icy creek. Despite facing this daunting predicament, Morris emerged with only minor injuries, largely due to the quick actions of his wife and a fortunate series of events.
Morris’s wife, Jo Roop, played a crucial role in keeping him alive. She tirelessly held his head above the frigid waters to prevent drowning while waiting for the help that was on its way. The boulder had fallen onto him unexpectedly, trapping him for three agonizing hours.
A stroke of fortune came when a sled dog tourism company, which operates near the glacier, overheard the emergency dispatch on 911 and swiftly offered their helicopter to transport rescuers to the location, as it was inaccessible by all-terrain vehicles.
When rescuers finally reached Morris, it took seven men along with inflatable air bags to lift the heavy boulder, with Morris drifting in and out of consciousness during the ordeal.
“I must be the luckiest man alive,” Morris said, expressing gratitude for having such a resourceful wife after his ordeal.
Jo Roop, a former Alaska State Trooper, along with her husband, had recently moved from Idaho to Seward, situated about 120 miles south of Anchorage. On that fateful Saturday, they intended to explore the less traveled paths near Godwin Glacier, steering clear of the Kenai Peninsula crowd that typically gathers during holidays.
The couple’s exploration led them through a rugged creek bed scattered with large boulders that the glacier had left behind. Morris, aware of the potential hazard, did his best to avoid the precarious rocks, some weighing as much as 1,000 pounds. However, an unexpected incident triggered an avalanche of boulders that sent him tumbling into the creek.
“Everything slid out from under me,” Morris recalled as he found himself facedown in the icy water. A boulder then struck his back, trapping and pinning him in place.
Miraculously, the positioning of rocks beneath and around Morris caught the weight of the boulder, preventing it from crushing him entirely. Despite being spared from severe injury, the pain in his left leg was excruciating, and he awaited what he feared would be the snapping of his femur.
His wife attempted for 30 minutes to free him, trying to create leverage with other rocks, but to no avail. She then embarked on a search for a cell signal and managed to connect with emergency services within just a few hundred yards. Her law enforcement background enabled her to provide precise GPS coordinates to dispatchers.
A volunteer firefighter, working nearby at the sled dog operation, responded to the 911 call and redirected the helicopter used to transport tourists, ultimately facilitating Morris’s rescue. Firefighters, unable to access the area with vehicles, arrived swiftly by helicopter.
By the time they reached Morris, who was showing signs of hypothermia from the glacial waters, his wife’s efforts to keep his head above water likely saved his life. “Without the helicopter’s aid, we would have needed an additional 45 minutes to reach him, and I’m skeptical he had that much time,” the fire chief noted.
Rescue crews utilized two vehicle rescue air bags to lift the boulder enough for brute force to take over. “It was an all-hands effort with several men able to finally free Morris,” the fire chief added.
Additional help came from an Alaska National Guard helicopter, which hoisted Morris from the creek bed using a rescue basket. He spent two nights in a local hospital for observation but remarkably walked away unscathed.
Reflecting on what could have been a tragic outing, Morris is grateful for this second chance at life and admits this may serve as a wake-up call to be more cautious given his age.
“Perhaps it’s time to stop doing things like this,” he mused, adding that their next hiking adventure will be confined to established trails only.
“Enough of the trailblazing,” Morris concluded, grateful for the care and luck that kept him safe.