Woman killed in Yosemite while climbing called ‘force of nature’
A Yosemite National Park visitor died Saturday from injuries she suffered during a rock climbing accident, according to the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office.
Megan Christine Kelley, 25, was injured Saturday when she was struck by a rock and died a short time later at a Modesto-area hospital, according to the coroner.
Park rangers conducted a search and rescue along Cathedral Peak inside the park for a woman on Saturday afternoon, Park Ranger Jamie Richards confirmed on Thursday.
“Rangers climbed up, provided medical aid, were able to get her down,” she said. “Her status when she left the park, we don’t have information at this time.”
The incident remains under investigation, she said.
A native of Seattle, Kelley “was struck unconscious and felt no fear or pain,” according to an obituary.
She was a force of nature. Her peers remember by her inquisitive mind, huge smile and contagious laughter.
An obituary for Megan Kelley
She attended Charles Wright Academy private school in Tacoma, Wash., for 13 years, where she was an avid student who played soccer and tennis, the obituary said.
“She was a force of nature,” the obituary says. “Her peers remember by her inquisitive mind, huge smile and contagious laughter.”
She attended Claremont McKenna College before moving to San Francisco. She worked at the Trinchero winery in Sonoma before getting a job at technology start-up Hired, according to her obituary. She had been promoted three weeks ago.
Kelley is survived by her mother, Laurie O. Kelley; father, David “Reed” Kelley; and siblings, Lauren R. Kelley and David “Austin” Kelley; as well as her boyfriend, Ben Chute.
There will be a memorial at 11 a.m. Saturday at Charles Wright Academy in Tacoma.
Thaddeus Miller: 209-385-2453, @thaddeusmiller
This story was originally published August 31, 2017 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Woman killed in Yosemite while climbing called ‘force of nature’."