11-year-old killed and mother injured at Big Four Ice Caves near Granite Falls

An 11-year-old girl died and her mother was injured Saturday at Big Four Ice Caves about 25 miles east of Granite Falls in Snohomish County.

Details were sketchy Saturday evening, but the mother and daughter were standing near the ice fields when a large chunk of ice fell from ice fields above or close to them, said Jeff Brand, a lieutenant with Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office. The girl was struck on the head, her mother on the legs.

The two were not on or in the caves, Brand said.

A 911 call came into Verlot Ranger Station about 2:30 p.m., Brand said. A Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy arrived first on the scene sometime before 3 p.m., and a helicopter was requested not long afterward.

The medical examiner was requested shortly before 5 p.m. The mother was not serious injured.

The Big Four Ice Caves is a popular destination, but Brand said people should not go anywhere close to the caves.tay far from the In August 1998, a Bothell woman was killed when ice collapsed and fell on her when she was in the cave.