Story of fatal climb at Columbia Hills State Park still emerging

Authorities are still trying to piece together events that led to the rock-climbing deaths of a police detective and his sister-in-law in a Washington state park this weekend.

Tony Silva, a detective in the Gresham, Ore., Police Department, and Laura Dyal-Silva died after falling about 35 feet from the top of the basalt columns at Horsethief Butte in Klickitat County's Columbia Hills State Park just before 1 p.m. Sunday. Silva died at the scene; his sister-in-law was airlifted to an area hospital.

A Washington State Parks spokeswoman said the two died while rappelling, though witnesses said neither climber was attached to a rope at the time of the fall.

Climbers nearby, who saw the two and another man at the top of the park's popular climbing cliffs, recalled hearing one quiz the others on climbing safety shortly before the fall.

State park rangers and the Washington State Patrol are investigating.

Members of the Mazamas, a popular 105-year-old Oregon mountaineering-education organization, happened to be teaching a beginning rock-climbing class Sunday at Horsethief Butte. One member immediately called 911, and several students and instructors offered first aid. None of them saw the fall.

"Many people heard a scream, and we saw the climbers on the ground," said Mazamas Executive Director Peggie Schwarz, who also was there.

The Mazamas did everything they could, said climber John Frieh, who is not affiliated with the group but was climbing nearby.

"It was the next best thing to having actual rescue personnel on site," he said. "You had like five first-aid kits instantly produced."

Columbia Hills, a 3,338-acre park just across the Columbia River from The Dalles, Ore., is a popular beginner-climbing spot, with about 50 climbing routes, but very few fixed anchors.

Craig Welch: 206-464-2093