A Fort Smith man died Saturday in a fall from the Ozark Highlands Trail in rural southwestern Searcy County, Sheriff Joey Pruitt said.
Pruitt said 60-year-old Harry E. Smith was hiking when he slipped and fell about 60 feet in the area of Punch Bowl Falls. The accident was reported about 4 p.m. Saturday near the border of Newton and Searcy counties on Richland Creek.
Pruitt said a 911 call originally went to Pope County, then was transferred to Newton County and eventually to Searcy County.
Rescue workers from the Witt Springs, Snowball, Lurton and Pelsor fire departments; the U.S. Forest Service; the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission; North Arkansas Regional Medical Center; and Air Evac assisted in recovery efforts, Pruitt said.
Metro on 02/01/2016