On June 27, 1959, a tragic accident took place four miles southwest of Morrison, which led to the founding of one of Colorado’s longest-operating search and rescue organizations.
As reported by the Canyon Courier on July 2, 1959, an Englewood man, Philip Jensen, was climbing a 600-foot-tall cliff known as “Lover’s Leap,” which is found off of Highway 285 in Turkey Creek Canyon. He was with three other climbers at the time.
Jensen unfortunately fell about 400 feet from the cliffside when a piton attached to the group’s scaling rope pulled loose, resulting in his death. The other three climbers witnessed Jensen’s fall and ended up stranded on the cliffside in the absence of the scaling rope.
Two witnesses in a cabin across the canyon had been watching the climbers through binoculars, seeing the fall and calling for help immediately.
After about 2.5 hours, a crew of rescuers that included the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Indian Hills Rescue Squad, and volunteer firemen were able to bring the stuck climbers to safety.