In an image from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, Ryan Wardwell stands trapped at the Seven Teacups waterfalls in the Sequoia National Forest on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. Wardwell, who was found with minor injuries and suffering from dehydration, was located by rescue crews operating a drone near where he had last been spotted. (Tulare County Sheriff’s Office via The New York Times) In an image from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, a California Highway Patrol helicopter hovers over a waterfall where a man was trapped at the Seven Teacups waterfalls in the Sequoia National Forest on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. The man, who was found with minor injuries and suffering from dehydration, was located by rescue crews operating a drone near where he had last been spotted. (Tulare County Sheriff’s Office via The New York Times)
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A California man who was trapped behind a waterfall for two days in the Sequoia National Forest was rescued early Tuesday, authorities said.
The man, Ryan Wardwell, 46, of Long Beach, California, who was found with minor injuries and suffering from dehydration, was located by rescue crews operating a drone near where he had last been spotted, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted on social media. He had been seen Sunday evening at the top of the Seven Teacups waterfalls, near the north fork of the Kern River.
Wardwell told officials that he had planned to rappel the waterfalls but became trapped “because of the extreme hydraulics of the river,” the sheriff’s office said.
Video of the rescue, also shared online by the sheriff’s office, shows a California Highway Patrol helicopter hovering over a waterfall as a member of the rescue team descended into an opening in the earth where Wardwell was found.
Rescue teams jumped into action Monday after Wardwell was reported missing, the sheriff’s office said. Crews used aircraft equipped with camera and infrared technology to identify his possible location, but the rough terrain and late hour forced them to delay the mission.
“A rescue plan was developed to respond at first light the following morning,” the sheriff’s office said.
Wardwell was found the next day after a drone was used to check behind a large, cascading waterfall. In its statement, the sheriff’s office urged people to “always be aware of their environment and capabilities, especially when navigating white water rivers.”
Sequoia National Forest is in the southern Sierra Nevada of California. The popular Seven Teacups offers “beautiful jumps, rappels, and slides,” according to the Coalition of American Canyoneers, but it can be dangerous.
The nonprofit worked with the Forest Service to develop signage warning outdoors enthusiasts about the risks. Rescue, it warns, “is not immediately available.”
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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
By Aimee Ortiz/Tulare County Sheriff’s Office
c. 2025 The New York Times Company
