Woman Who Dangled Over Cliff’s Edge Thanks Pasadena Police for Role in Rescue

Glendora resident Diana Offen sent a letter to Pasadena Chief of Police Phillip Sanchez to thank him and an electrician who works at the Police Department who helped her secure herself and who stayed by her side as she dangled 100 feet over a rocky canyon floor off a cliff above Altadena on Sunday night.

Offen was hiking on the Sam Merrill trail in the Angeles National Forest when she slipped and fell about 20 feet from the path. She was able to hold on a small bush that prevented her falling off the cliff, but she was slipping farther as the ground beneath her was loose and falling away. The small bush would not hold her for long.

Two male hikers tried to reach her but they too could not maneuver enough to do anything. It was electrician Roberto Mercado who got closest to where she was.

“Roberto Mercado, an electrician with your department, came down alongside me and comforted me by telling me that he was there to help,” Offen wrote in her letter to Chief Sanchez. “The place he landed on my left side barely had room for him to maneuver. He told the people above us to move away from the edge. He then asked that they create a rope by tying leashes, backpack straps etc. He directed them to tie the one-fourth gallon water jug at the end of the leash and send it down to me. I was relieved that I could hang on to this ‘rope’ because I could feel myself sliding.”

As his wife called 911, Mercado was instructing other people who were further up on the trail to hand him more leashes and straps that he passed on to the 66-year-old woman for her to secure herself.

“Throughout this whole episode, he told me that he got me so not to worry,” said Offen. “Roberto is a leader. He took charge during this emergency. As your employee you should be proud of him with the knowledge that you can depend on him to do whatever is required and then some. He mentioned that he was prepared as he was recently trained.”

A few minutes later, a Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter came to the rescue, first lowering a paramedic to check on her condition, and then hoisting her back to the trail.

With no serious injuries, Offen was able to hike down on her own.