US tourist in Italy falls 1,000 feet to death on mountain hike

CNN — Rome (CNN) — A Florida woman died after plunging more than 300 meters (around 1,000 feet) while hiking in the Italian Dolomite mountains, according to police in the northern city of Trentino.

Her death on Saturday was announced late this week after her next of kin were notified, police say.

Michelle Alejandra Rubio-Leiva, who was 36 and from Miami, was on vacation with family members on the Forcella Pordoi trail, a high-altitude site in the Sella group of the Dolomites, when she fell, police told CNN.

The UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its sweeping views and zig-zag canyon, is only accessible by cable car and reaches 2,848 meters (9,344 feet) at its highest.

Rubio-Leiva's sister, who was with her at the time, alerted emergency services, which dispatched a team of specialists from the Trentino Alpine and Cave Rescue Services and a rescue helicopter to descend to the spot from where her body was eventually recovered.

The two women had left the trail to reach a steep exposed spot on an upper cliff to take a picture when Rubio-Leiva slipped and fell into the canyon below, according to emergency workers who described the accident to local media. Rubio-Leiva's family members were airlifted to Canazei while her body was retrieved, the local carabinieri told CNN. The recovery operation lasted several hours.

The hiking area is extremely dangerous and known for steep inclines, loose gravel and falling rocks, according to the Italian Alpine Rescue unit, which told CNN that more than 80 people died in the Dolomites in 2026 so far.