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ZION NATIONAL PARK — A daring rescue took place in Zion National Park Monday as a man jumped over a wall and slid down a cliff to save someone he'd barely met.
When Elsie and Brent Anderson make their way from Bountiful to St. George, they do it the long way.
"I hate freeways, number one," Brent said. "We usually go down the west side of Utah Lake, up through Eureka, Delta. It's really not maybe 10 miles further, but it takes a couple of hours longer because you go slower."
"It drives my wife crazy, but I insist we do it," he added.
The couple was winding their way through Zion National Park Monday when Brent decided to stop at an overlook. He noticed a man looking out over the park.
"I thought I was impressed to go over there — just look over there, see what he's looking at," Brent said.
I got a death grip on his right wrist because I thought, two more seizures and he's over the cliff.
–Brent Anderson
After a quick conversation, Brent said he got back into his car to leave when he saw the man go over the wall.
"I heard this noise," he said. "He made a big noise and he kind of went backwards up and over this wall, just flying."
"I said, 'He's gone over the wall!' I think I used a swear word, which I'm not supposed to being in the bishopric," he said.
The man had suffered a seizure, but it was just the start of what would be a terrifying few minutes.
"I ran down and grabbed a hold of him. He had another seizure. He went down probably another 6 or 7 feet and he drug me down," he explained. "Then I got a death grip on his right wrist, because I thought, two more seizures and he's over the cliff."
"I'm just screaming at my wife, 'I need some help now!' " he said.
Elsie Anderson ran out into the road and flagged down help.
"A motorcycle stopped with a couple, and two or three cars. They were younger, buffer people than him," she said.
"They immediately started jumping over the wall and helping, even though I don't know if they realized how much trouble he was really in," she added.
Elsie didn't know how much trouble her husband was really in, either. She would later learn he was preparing to make a daring decision.
"I thought, if he really gets to the edge, do I let him go or what?" Brent said. "I thought I could never live with myself if I let him go."
Elsie said, "He was involved, so he saw it from his perspective. I was watching it. My perspective was seeing that my husband and this other man were about to go off the ledge."
If he really gets to the edge, do I let him go or what? I could never live with myself if I let him go.
–Brent Anderson
"It was really, really hard because I knew what decision he would make. I knew he would stay till the end if he needed to. It was really hard to watch," she said.
With the help of a handful of other strangers, Brent was able to pull the man back up to the roadway. A bus driver radioed for help and the 53-year-old man, who they think was named Russell, was taken to a hospital.
"We didn't even get his name," Elsie said. "I wish we could check up on him and I wonder how he is."
While the Andersons now have a dramatic story to tell, Brent said it could have been anyone.
"I think everybody would do something like that. I just can't imagine letting a guy go," Brent said.
