Boy survives after falling 70 feet from cliff

SILVERTON, Ore. (KABC) -- A family outing in Oregon nearly turned to disaster when a little boy fell off a high cliff, and his father went after him. Luckily, they both survived with barely a scratch.

When 3-year-old Emanuel tumbled off a cliff, his father didn't hesitate. He hoisted himself over a railing and went after his son.

Emanuel and his parents were hiking in Oregon's Silver Falls State Park on Sunday.

"I heard his voice saying, 'Mommy look, I'm sitting down.' So, as soon as I turned around, he had already flipped back, and he was already rolling," said mother Ana Vazquez.

She screamed as her son rolled down the 170-foot hillside. Then the boy's father jumped.

"All I did was jump. I don't know how. I don't know if I went underneath the crossbars or I went over. I don't know. I see him falling down, and all I did was catch up to him," said father Ramiro Vallejo.

Emanuel finally came to a stop about 70 feet down, and his father caught up and took him in his arms.

"All I did was tell him, 'Calm down. Nothing happened. You can cry, you can smile, you can do whatever you want, but don't be scared about what happened,'" Vallejo said.

Jason Wishert was too far away to help, but he was able to take pictures with his phone.

"I know I witnessed a miracle. It was absolutely a miracle. That boy's guardian angel was on duty that day," he said.

Emanuel and his father were able to climb back to safety. The boy suffered just a few small scratches from the fall.

Emanuel's parents took him to the hospital to get checked out, but the X-rays showed nothing broken.

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unbelievable, national news, michelle tuzee

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