Florida Family Falls into Gorge: Glacier National Park Miracle Rescue | Ep. 44

Summary

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The Miracle Files | Ep. 44

"Florida Family Falls into Gorge: Glacier National Park Miracle Rescue"
Hosts: Holly & Emily
Release Date: September 8, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Miracle Files explores a harrowing incident at Glacier National Park, where a Florida family’s vacation nearly turned tragic. When three family members fell into Avalanche Creek Gorge, a rapid and dangerous rescue involving bystanders—including medical professionals—led to what Holly and Emily call a true miracle. The episode dives into the events, the rescue, and discusses faith, fate, and the importance of caution, particularly while taking selfies in risky locations.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Glacier National Park

• Location: Northwestern Montana, along the Canadian border
• Description: Over a million acres of rugged wilderness with icy blue creeks, waterfalls, and steep gorges.
• Avalanche Gorge: A popular hiking spot, beautiful yet treacherous, with steep drop-offs and fast-moving, icy water.
• (01:03–02:31)

“It's this icy blue creek full of small waterfalls that cascade over these moss covered boulders. It's surrounded by steep rock walls ... a little treacherous as well.”
— Holly (Host 1), 02:07

2. The Incident: A Family’s Hike Goes Awry

• Situation: A Florida family of four (father, mother, teenage son, older daughter) hikes the gorge and poses for a selfie on the edge.
• The Accident: Mom slips and falls into the gorge; the father and son attempt a rescue and also fall in.
• Hazards: 30-foot drop, rapid water current, and frigid temperatures.
• (02:34–04:12)

“...the mother and father were swept away ... their teenage son tried to go in after them.”
— Holly (Host 1), 03:31

“You can't contend with Mother Nature. Mother Nature will always win.”
— Emily (Host 2), 04:12

3. The Rescue: Bravery and Divine Timing

• Witnesses: Two brothers, Mike and Tommy Skidmore, and their nephew, on the trail with their families, encounter the frantic daughter.
• Immediate Action:
  • The three men jump into the freezing, chest-high water to search for the parents.
  • The mother is found unconscious, trapped under a log jam; Tommy, a doctor, begins CPR.
  • The father is also retrieved, but he is unresponsive, requiring teamwork from bystanders to lift him from the currents.
• Skills that Saved Lives:
  • Tommy is a doctor; Mike is a dentist. Both are CPR certified and immediately administer life-saving CPR to both parents.
• (04:48–06:44)

“The wife responded to CPR probably within the first minute ... It took a few minutes, probably three to five minutes, CPR to get him going.”
— Mike Skidmore, 06:44

“You needed two people who were CPR trained, which you just happen to have show up at that moment, who were cool under pressure and who got these people out immediately.”
— Holly (Host 1), 08:23

4. Aftermath: Miraculous Recovery

• Outcomes:
  • All three rescued (mother, father, son) were taken to Logan Health in Kalispell and stabilized.
  • The son, initially stranded on a fallen tree, was rescued by first responders rappelling down into the gorge.
• (07:10–07:27)

“Then all three were taken to Logan Health in Kalispell, and they are all in stable condition.”
— Narrator, 07:27

5. Faith and Interpretation: Miraculous, Not Coincidental

• Hosts’ Reflection:
  • The hosts underline the belief that this was not just luck—God orchestrated for two medical professionals to be at the right place, right time.
  • The event is labeled as divine intervention, not coincidence.
• (08:01–08:51)

“How often do we hear that ... all these people who are CPR trained just happen to be at the exact right spot and at that exact moment...obviously, we don't believe that. We believe that God puts these people there for a reason.”
— Holly (Host 1), 08:51

6. Practical Takeaways: Cautionary Advice

• Primary Tip: Don’t take selfies on cliffs—it’s not worth risking your life for a photo.
• Statistics: At least 480 people have reportedly died from taking selfies; more deaths occur from selfies than shark attacks each year.
• (09:24–10:16)

“Save a life, take less cool selfies. That's what we want you to learn.”
— Holly (Host 1), 11:29

7. Personal Anecdote and Humorous Warning

• Holly recounts her own recent near-miss while trying to take a “cute” photo with her daughter at Canyonlands National Park, underscoring that no photo is worth the risk.
• (10:18–11:52)

“Anyway, thanks everyone for joining us for this miracle in the news.”
— Holly (Host 1), 11:51

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On the dangers of selfies:

  “More people die every year from taking selfies than shark attacks.”
  — Holly (Host 1), 10:09

• On providence:

  “We believe that God puts these people there for a reason.”
  — Holly (Host 1), 08:51

• On risk vs. reward:

  “Save a life, take less cool selfies.”
  — Holly (Host 1), 11:29

• On faith and miracles:

  “God is performing miracles all the time.”
  — Emily (Host 2), 08:33

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Timeline of Important Segments

• 01:03: Introduction to Glacier National Park
• 02:34: The family's accident and fall into the gorge
• 04:48: Mike and Tommy Skidmore and nephew spring into rescue
• 06:44: Medical CPR: Both parents revived on the shore
• 07:27: All family members in stable condition
• 08:51: Hosts’ discussion—chance vs. divine intervention
• 09:24: Selfie safety tips and surprising statistics
• 10:18: Holly’s personal anecdote about a selfie near-miss

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Episode Takeaways

• Miracles happen: The simultaneous presence of two CPR-trained bystanders made the difference between life and death.
• Faith in action: Hosts attribute the outcome to divine intervention rather than chance.
• Selfie responsibly: Even beautiful places are dangerous; consider safety before posing for photos in risky spots.

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Final Thoughts

The episode is a gripping account of tragedy narrowly avoided, highlighting the importance of preparedness, the power of courage and quick thinking, and the role faith plays in interpreting miraculous outcomes. Holly and Emily’s warm, conversational tone brings both levity and deep reflection to the story, leaving listeners both inspired and cautioned.

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Transcript

[Narrator]

What do you think makes the perfect snack?

[AM PM Spokesperson]

Hmm. It's gotta be when I'm really craving it and it's convenient.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Could you be more specific?

[AM PM Spokesperson]

When it's cravinient.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Okay.

[AM PM Spokesperson]

Like a freshly baked cookie made with real butter, available right down the street at a.m. p.m. Or a savory breakfast sandwich I can grab in just a second at a.m. p.m.

[Narrator]

I'm seeing a pattern here.

[AM PM Spokesperson]

Well, yeah, we're talking about what I.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Crave, which is anything from AM pm.

[AM PM Spokesperson]

What more could you want? Stop by AM PM where the snacks and drinks are perfectly craveable and convenient. That's cravenience. Am PM Too much. Good stuff.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

They finally found the wife trapped under a log jam, completely submerged and unconscious beneath the water.

[Mike Skidmore]

We didn't know how long they'd been in. I thought, unfortunately, here's two dead bodies.

[Host 2]

This is miracles in the news. Welcome back to the Miracle Files. Holly keeps trying to tell me what this story is about, and I don't want her to because I want to listen with you guys. But all I know is that it has something to do with a cliff, which I am absolutely terrified of heights. So let's hear it.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Okay, so I've been so excited for this one, and you'll see why. But the story starts in Glacier national park, if you know where that is.

[Host 2]

I don't remember. I don't know.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Okay, that's fine. It's kind of close to where we grew up, but no big deal. Okay, so Glacier is located in northwestern Montana and it runs along the Canadian border.

[Host 2]

Okay, okay, okay. My friend Mindy goes there every summer. I forgot. I know where it is now.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

I know it's absolutely beautiful and has about 1 million acres of rugged wilderness. So in early July of 2025, a family from Florida that consisted of a father, a mother, their teenage son, and I believe, his older sister, they were hiking through the park along a large gorge called Avalanche Creek Gorge. Okay, if you don't know what a gorge is, it's like a smaller, steeper canyon kind of. It's like carved out by a river or creek. And Avalanche Gorge is gorgeous. No pun intended.

[Host 2]

Good one. Nice one.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

No, seriously, it's this icy blue creek full of small waterfalls that cascade over these moss covered boulders. It's surrounded by steep rock walls that are covered in green foliage, so, you know, a little treacherous as well. And there's a popular hiking trail that follows along the gorge up to Avalanche Lake.

[Host 2]

Sounds beautiful. You're making me want to go there.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Right? Yeah.

[Host 2]

Although I don't know where the story is headed. So.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Yeah, just wait. So on this particular day, this family of four backed up to the gorge. They're standing on the edge of the gourd to take a selfie of themselves. And, you know, these cliffs are, like, about 30ft high. And they were smiling up at the camera, you know, getting ready for that amazing shot they're gonna take of the family. And the articles I read weren't exactly clear on this, but from what I gather, it was probably the mom that got too close to the edge and fell.

[Narrator]

There were a group of four who were visiting the park from Florida, and they were taking pictures on the rocks above Avalanche Gorge when one person slipped and fell in. Two of the others tried to help, but ended up falling in as well.

[Host 2]

Oh, my gosh. Okay, so now there's three people.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Yeah.

[Host 2]

That have fallen or jumped off this cliff.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Right.

[Host 2]

Oh, my gosh.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

And it's not like a cliff that's so high that you're, like, guaranteed to die if you fall off of it. But the problem is there's this rushing water below the cliff, and the current is so fast moving that multiple. Multiple people have died here. So the mother and father were swept away by the current, and their teenage son tried to go in after them. And he was struggling as well, but he was able to pull himself up onto a. A fallen tree that hung above the water. But you can see in the video footage, it. It's absolutely heartbreaking. This young man looks so heartsick as he's sitting there on this fallen tree. And I'm sure he's thinking that he has just watched his parents die. It's really sad.

[Host 2]

I mean, it's so heartbreaking. He obviously jumped in because he wanted to save his parents, but you can't contend with Mother Nature like Mother Nature will always win.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Yeah. And this water wasn't just fast moving, but it was super cold. So there wasn't really anything this poor young man could do besides save himself.

[Host 2]

Wow.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

But his sister was the only one that hadn't fallen in. And as you can imagine, she's frantic at this point. So at that very moment, two brothers, Mike and Tommy Skidmore, were also hiking the trail with their families.

[Host 2]

And.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

And they saw this frantic girl, and she's pointing at the creek, and she's asking for help. So Mike, Tommy, and their nephew instantly jump into the water, and it's about chest high, freezing. Just. I mean, this is really cold water. But they begin searching for the parents, who were nowhere to be seen. They finally found the Wife trapped under a log jam, completely submerged and unconscious beneath the water. They pulled her out, and Tommy happens to be a doctor, so he started doing CPR on her right away, but the father was still in the water somewhere. So while Tommy was doing CPR on the mother, Mike and his nephew continued to search through the water for the father's body. And they finally found his body, but it was in some pretty crazy currents, and it was trapped under debris. And so they were having a hard time getting his body out. But. But fortunately, there were some bystanders that came and helped. And with all of the help, they were able to pull the father's body out and get his body onto the shore.

[Mike Skidmore]

Luckily, two other men had shown up and kind of, you know, held hands across the more shallow part of the river and were able to support my nephew and I to get him up onto the shore. And then I started cpring him right away. No pulse, no breathing. I mean, they were. At that point, we didn't know how long they'd been in. Looking at him, I thought, unfortunately, here's two dead bodies.

[Host 2]

Oh, my gosh. That is terrifying. Especially for this young girl who is watching both of her parents get pulled from the water unconscious. Like there's nothing worse than that.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Yeah. So sad and so scary.

[Host 2]

Yeah.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

But something that's kind of crazy cool about this story is that Mike was a dentist. So we have Tommy, who's a doctor, we've got Mike, who's a dentist. They're both CPR certified. So here you have two men who are doing CPR simultaneously on these two complete strangers.

[Mike Skidmore]

The wife responded to CPR probably within the first minute, started coughing and getting some, you know, kind of guttural breaths. It took a few minutes, probably three to five minutes, CPR to get him going.

[Host 2]

Wow, these are such incredible men, because I am sure they risk their lives going into that water for sure.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Okay, so, yeah, they're incredible.

[Host 2]

So tell me what is happening with the son?

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Okay, so if you recall, he was actually clinging to his fallen tree down in the gorge, so it took some time to get him out. They had to actually wait until some first responders came and the first responders rappelled down to him and were able to rescue the son.

[Narrator]

Then all three were taken to Logan Health in Kalispell, and they are all in stable condition.

[Host 2]

Man, it's so crazy how in just the blink of an eye, things can change so fast. Things can be completely flipped upside down and tragic strikes.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

It's so true. You never know when something like this can happen. And obviously, Mike and Tommy Skidmore and their nephew are incredibly brave men, but to me, this Russia. Yeah. For some reason, they didn't give us his name. But anyway, nephew, you're awesome.

[Host 2]

You did help.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

But to me, this rescue feels more like divine intervention than just luck. I don't know. What do you think?

[Host 2]

Yeah, I think what makes this a miracle is obviously these guys were right there able to find these bodies, pull them out of the water, resuscitate them in time. I mean, it wasn't just one person either. It was two people. And it's just crazy.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

You needed two people who were CPR trained, which you just happen to have show up at that moment, who were cool under pressure and who got these people out immediately.

[Host 2]

Yeah. It reminds me of our Enrique episode where he was also trapped under the water and there were also first responders there to help him, which just makes me think, like, you know, these miracles seem so incredible, but it's not like it just happens one time. God is performing miracles all the time.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

How often do we hear that when something like this happens, all these people who are CPR trained just happen to be at the exact right spot and at that exact moment just happened to be. Yeah, just. Just a coincidence. Right. Obviously, we don't believe that. We believe that God puts these people there for a reason. And something else I want to talk about. If you all have listened to our other episodes of Miracles in the news, you know that we often give some helpful tips so that you can avoid these dangerous situations yourselves.

[Host 2]

And the first one is don't take selfies on cliffs.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Yes, exactly. That's literally not just the first tip. That's the only tip I have for you today.

[Host 2]

It's really hard.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Do it. Don't put yourself in dangerous situations just to take a photo.

[Host 2]

Gosh. I have a friend who will go stand at the top of a cliff and every time she does a headstand just so she can get a picture on every different cliff of her doing a headstand. And every time I'm going to die, I'm like, what are you doing?

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

That is so scary and it's terrifying. Did a little research and it's estimated that 480 people have died from taking selfies.

[Host 2]

Oh, my gosh. People do the dumbest things for good pictures.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Seriously. Okay, this. This stat is going to blow your mind. More people die every year from taking selfies than shark attacks.

[Host 2]

Wow. That's crazy.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

I know. Yeah. So I was actually working on this story last week. And then this weekend we went to Canyonlands national park, and I have to tell you, I almost had my own stupid moment.

[Host 2]

Oh, no.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

It was so dumb. So my daughter Jessica and I were standing on the edge of a cliff and getting our picture taken, and I was like, taking a selfie. Hey, you know what would be cute is if you jumped on my back and I gave you a piggyback ride.

[Host 2]

While we're going to get your picture.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Taken on the edge of a cliff. I don't know what I was thinking.

[Host 2]

What could go wrong, right?

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Anyway, so she jumps on my back and she jumped really high and it knocked me over and I fell and she fell with me. We have, like, pictures of all of this because of course, my daughter, rather than helping us, my other daughter was like, let's get this on camera.

[Host 2]

So what were you thinking? Am I allowed to say, you miracle?

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

You are absolutely allowed to say when I was a. Oh, my gosh.

[Host 2]

Please do not. Please do not do such dumb things for a selfie.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

I know.

[Host 2]

It's not worth it.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

It's not worth it. Save a life, take less cool selfies. That's what we want you to learn.

[Host 2]

You'll be okay without that picture.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Yeah, you live. And if you want to see me and my daughter almost fall off a cliff, you can watch our YouTube video. I am ashamed to admit it was really dumb, but anyway, thanks everyone for joining us for this miracle in the news.

[Host 2]

I have a long list of people that need to listen to this podcast, so if you know someone who needs to hear this message, share this podcast episode with them so you can keep them safe.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Thank you for joining us. If you have a miracle to share, contact [e-mail] or find us on Facebook.

[Host 2]

We're now releasing multiple episodes each month, so subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and YouTube for amazing video content as well.

[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

Join us next time as we discover more of God's miracles. And don't forget to look for his light in your own lives.

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[Host 1 (possibly Holly)]

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