Man Rescued After Being Pinned Beneath 700-Pound Boulder in Remote Alaskan Wilderness | June 7, 2025

An Alaskan man is lucky to be alive after a freak accident during a hike left him pinned beneath a 700-pound boulder in the remote wilderness near Anchorage.

Kel Morris and his wife, Joanna Rof, were hiking in the scenic Alaskan backcountry when the ground beneath Kel gave way, sending him tumbling down a slope and into a creek. In a terrifying turn of events, a massive boulder crashed down after him, pinning his lower body and leaving him face down with his head barely above water.

For 30 agonizing minutes, Joanna tried desperately to free her husband. “I started to shiver pretty good,” Kel recalled, as hypothermia began to set in. With no cell service at the remote location, Joanna, a police officer, made the gut-wrenching decision to leave her husband alone and hike out for help.

“I hated it. I didn’t think I’d come back and he would be alive,” Joanna said.

Eventually, she reached a spot with just enough signal to call 911—and by chance, reached a dispatcher she personally knew. “Kevin, it’s Officer RP,” she said urgently. “Kel is stuck in the river under a big boulder with his leg crushed. I need a helicopter and I need it now.”

A local helicopter tour company quickly flew rescuers to the scene, where they found Kel slipping in and out of consciousness. The freezing water was just inches from his mouth. Seven rescuers worked together to lift the boulder off him, and moments later, the Alaska Air National Guard arrived to airlift him to safety.

Now recovering in the hospital, Kel is thankful. “Very lucky,” he said, still in disbelief.