Girl, father rescued after stuck down a cliff near Molalla

NEAR MOLALLA, Ore. – Crews successfully rescued an 11-year-old girl and her father Friday night after they got stuck on a cliff just east of here, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office.

The father and daughter, Craig and Emily Casterline, went down the cliff to try and find the family dog when a hailstorm made the ground muddy and slick and they couldn't get back up.

Crews first rescued Emily about four hours after she got stuck about 30 feet down the cliff. An hour later they were able to rescue her father who reportedly was an additional 20 feet farther down the bank.
 
Neither father nor daughter appeared to be seriously injured, according to the sheriff’s office. Firefighters checked Craig for hypothermia but he was walking around and appeared to be OK.

The dog, a Saint Bernard named Maggie, was later rescued and was OK, but muddy.

Clackamas County Sheriff's Deputy John Gibson said crews brought in generators and lights to aid crews in the rescue and a chain saw was used to clear away brush so access to the cliff face could be gained.

Craig Casterline said they knew they were stuck "when I saw the washed out slide area that we had fallen down into. It was just too muddy, too steep."

Emily was stung by a few bees, her father said, but otherwise she was uninjured.

"It was slippery, a little scary," she said.

KATU News reporter Emily Sinovic contributed to this report.