Wisconsin climber falls to his death

CASPER (WNE) — A Wisconsin man attempting to climb Devils Tower fell to his death on Sunday night. 

Stewart Phillip Porter, a 21-year-old from Eau Claire, Wisc., was rappelling a section of wall called El Cracko Diablo when he fell. 

“There wasn’t any equipment malfunction whatsoever, but he was rappelling,” National Park Service Interpretation and Education Ranger Rick Strasser said. 

Strasser said the service has an idea of what happened but was unable to provide further details at the time of publication. Porter was pronounced dead on the scene by a paramedic. 

The National Park Service reported the death was just the seventh in more than a century of climbing at the national monument. 

This story was published on September 25, 2024.