A father died after bravely risking his life to save three boys who fell while hiking in Oregon.
According to Curry County Sheriff John Ward, 36-year-old Ryan Acord of Grants Pass was hiking with his wife, two sons, and one of his son’s friends when they mistakenly followed Google Maps to an unmarked trail north of Secret Beach. The family unknowingly wandered onto Thunder Cove, where they encountered a perilous section near a waterfall.
Acord saw the children fall over the embankment and slipped while trying to save them. His wife, Jordan Acord, called for help, and first responders found Ryan Acord and eight-year-old Nolan Haptonstall on the rocky beach about 200 feet below the trail. Paramedics pronounced Acord dead at the scene.
Nolan was airlifted to Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach and later transferred to a hospital in Portland, where he is expected to make a full recovery.
Search-and-rescue teams reached the two brothers who had fallen from the upper part of the trail down the steep embankment. Twelve-year-old Kade Acord was found clinging to a small tree and was taken to Curry General Hospital for treatment before being released. Eight-year-old Liam Stidham, found uninjured, was soon reunited with his mother.
The US Coast Guard airlifted Acord’s body after all the rescues were completed.
Secret Beach, known for its hidden beaches, has seen several accidents in recent years, with three fatalities in the past three years, raising safety concerns.
Acord, a former educator in the Lincoln Middle School district in Arkansas, moved to Grants Pass with his family in 2022. His loved ones remember him as a courageous, brave, and adventurous husband and father who tragically died while engaging in an activity he loved.