A hiker suffered head and neck injuries after falling 50 feet at Bells Canyon Waterfall on Saturday, Aug. 1, prompting a multi-agency rescue that ended with a helicopter hoist in the dark.

Sandy City Fire Department personnel were first on scene, hiking to the injured hiker and providing immediate medical care, KUTV reported. Salt Lake County Sheriff's Search and Rescue crews responded around 9 p.m. after fire personnel called for backup from search and rescue and the Utah Department of Public Safety, according to ABC4.

Rescuers placed the hiker into a spinal immobilization device. A DPS helicopter hoisted the patient off the mountain and flew them to an ambulance waiting at the Bells Canyon Trailhead parking lot. The hiker was taken by ground ambulance to a local hospital.

All responding personnel were off the mountain by 11 p.m.

The hiker's identity has not been released.

A familiar danger spot

Bells Canyon Waterfall sits just south of the Cottonwood Heights city boundary in Sandy and is one of the most popular hiking destinations for Cottonwood Heights and Holladay residents. The lower falls are about 2 miles from the Preservation Trailhead, a steep climb through wilderness terrain. Trail guides have long warned that the area around the falls is slippery, and multiple people have been injured or killed there over the years.

The Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office urged hikers to stay on designated trails, keep a safe distance from cliff edges and pay attention to changing conditions, particularly after dark.

Third canyon rescue in weeks

Saturday's incident marks the third canyon rescue near the Cottonwood Heights area in recent weeks. A hiker was rescued from Mt. Superior's south ridge on July 23 after getting stranded on exposed terrain, and a climber was extracted from the Pentapitch route on July 18.

The Bells Canyon Trailhead is accessible from Wasatch Boulevard in Sandy, minutes from Cottonwood Heights neighborhoods.