CHICAGO: Glacier National Park police formally confirmed on Friday the identity of the victim of Monday’s Avalanche Creek drowning as Saudi citizen Atheer Abdulrahman S. Alquahtani.
The victim was a University of Kansas student residing in Lawrence, Kansas, who left on a sightseeing road trip when her school year ended.
Alquahtani fell off a rocky overhang on Monday into the waters of Avalanche Creek in Montana and was swept into the gorge, police said in a statement on Friday.
Park police added that witnesses spotted Alquahtani in the creek. Bystanders waded into the water and pulled her out and immediately began CPR. Witnesses contacted park rangers.
A medical team was mobilized after learning about the tragedy and Alquahtani was declared dead by personnel at the side of the creek banks.
Friends said that Alquahtani had just finished the first year of her master’s degree at the University of Kansas.
They added that she was on a road trip tour of national parks to celebrate completing her first year of studies.
Friends described her to the sheriff’s police as “a risk taker” who “loved getting in and being near water.”
Law enforcement investigators said there were no indications of foul play. The area where the incident occurred is off-trail and many visitors take the same risk. Water-related incidents are the No. 1 cause of death at Glacier National Park.
Visitors are asked to take extra precautions when approaching areas with water, especially during spring, park officials said.
