KPTV - FOX 12Man rescued from cliffside after 100-foot fall

A deer hunter who was able to stop his tumble down a cliff by catching a stump 40 feet from the bottom of the ravine has been rescued.

Hillsboro firefighters say Jason Henry, 32, was following a deer trail on land owned by Longview Timber when he fell nearly 100 feet on Monday afternoon.

He managed to stop his fall by grabbing onto a tree, Hillsboro firefighters say, and then squatted on the stump on the steep hillside.

"I was panicking. I got a family at home," said Henry, after his rescue. "Luckily, I had a cell phone that got a signal."

Henry then used his cell phone to call for help.

"Mr. Henry called 911 and was talking to a dispatcher the entire time, trying to describe his location and how he got there so the deputies could find him," according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office. "The man continuously told the dispatcher that he thought the stump was going to give way and he would fall down the vertical cliff."

Unsure of his exact location, Henry used a whistle to help crews find him. It took deputies about an hour to reach him in the steep, dense forest. A Washington County deputy was the first to find him, aided by his extensive knowledge of the area. Authorities said Deputy Daniel Charter was able to find Henry after only hearing general descriptions of landmarks.

Henry said he wasn't injured and walked back to his pickup truck.

"Somebody's watching out for me today," Henry said.

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