Dramatic moment hiker saved during 7-hour rescue mission on foggy California cliffside

A hiker trapped after falling from a steep cliffside in Northern California has been rescued following a daring operation in dense fog that lasted through the night in San Francisco.

The seven-hour operation started late Friday and into the early hours on Saturday when an injured hiker contacted 911 after he had fallen near Dead Man’s point in Land’s End, Presidio.

Emergency crews with the San Francisco Fire Department not only had to battle the dark, but high brush terrain and heavy dense fog as they worked along the dangerous steep cliffs to locate the hiker, who had fallen onto a perch below.

Video shows the incredible operation as crews used high-powered flashlights in the rescue to try and locate the hiker, along with the use of a drone.

Firefighters strapped with harnesses created a rope rescue system as they worked together to lower crews down the rocky cliffside in an attempt reach the hiker.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – San Francisco Fire Department continues the technical rescue operation at Dead Man’s Point in Land’s End, Presidio.

Firefighters on the cliff face are dealing with multiple challenges. The rock face is becoming unstable and the perch where the victim is… pic.twitter.com/vvvLTtenID

— SAN FRANCISCO FIRE DEPARTMENT MEDIA (@SFFDPIO) June 13, 2026

The emergency operation included “installing anchor points along the cliff to secure the rescuers and prepare for the safe extraction of the victim,” SFPD said.

While crews worked from above, rescue boats were sent in to secure the scene from the water.

At one point, conditions for the rescue worsened as the rock face became unstable and the perch where the victim was located began to break down, officials said.

Due to the increased possibility of the victim falling from his perch, the operation shifted to getting the hiker down to the shoreline.

Officials said the hiker sustained minor injuries after he slide down the cliff face in a controlled descent to the shore where rescue swimmers aided him through heavy surf to waiting rescue boats.

He was treated on scene and transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 

One of the rescue swimmers also sustained minor, non-life-threatening injuries and had to be transported to the emergency room, SFPD said. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Because of the conditions and location of the rescue attempt, crews did not initially have visual confirmation of the injured hiker, per SFPD.

Amazingly, though the victim was able to maintain communication the entire time of the rescue with 911 and authorities were able to use his cell phone triangulation to finally locate exactly where he was.

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