Officials: Mother of 3 dies after 150-foot fall at Crowders Mountain

GASTON CO., N.C. — Family members and a church community are in mourning after one of their members died Saturday.

Friends at Carmel Baptist Church in Matthews describe Stephanie Anderson as a strong woman of faith.

Executive Pastor Jay Hancock said Anderson was very active in the church and taught Sunday school for years. He said members were heartbroken when they learned about her death.

"Stephanie was a wonderful, wonderful lady. She just gave an incredible investment in the lives of kids here at the church," Hancock said.

He also said the senior pastor dedicated Sunday's service to Anderson's memory.

Anderson, 48, died after falling 150 feet from Crowders Mountain Saturday afternoon, officials with the Gastonia Fire Department said.

Officials received a call just before 1:30 p.m. that she had fallen off a cliff at Pinnacle Trail.

Friends told Channel 9 that Anderson slipped and fell when she was taking a picture.

Patrick Sherry said he helped Anderson's husband down the mountain after he watched his wife fall.

“There’s no contingency plan,” Sherry said. “Didn't this happen last year?”

“Terrain was very rough, not like you can drive a truck up to wherever they were,” Chris Stowe with the Gastonia Fire Department said.

He said it took roughly 12 minutes for about 20 rescuers to get to the scene but then crews had to ride ATVs, hike and pull their gear, then rappel down a gorge to reach the victim who was suffering from serious injuries.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family,” Stowe said.

Madeleine Farington was on Pinnacle Trail when Anderson fell.

She said she immediately heard Anderson's husband scream for help.

“All we heard was a man was screaming, ‘No, no, no,’ and we looked and she had tripped and fell off the mountain and she had a pulse for a minute," Farington said.

Channel 9 learned in 2014 there were two deaths on two different parts of the mountain trail.

Both victims were climbers using mountain gear, authorities said.

The fall was an accident, officials said.

Anderson was a substitute teacher at Marvin Ridge Middle and High School. She leaves behind a husband and three daughters.

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WSOC