7-year-old and mom fall 30 feet from canyon at Illinois state park, officials say

A mother and her 7-year-old son were rescued after falling as far as 30 feet from a canyon at an Illinois state park, firefighters say.

Firefighters with the Utica Fire Protection District were called to Starved Rock State Park on April 1 for a report of two people who had fallen, the department said in a news release.

At the bottom of French Canyon, officials found a 37-year-old woman and her 7-year-old son, according to a news release. They had fallen 25 to 30 feet.

The boy fell first, and his mom then fell as she tried to catch her son, an Illinois Department of Natural Resources spokesperson told WLS.

Officials also found the child’s father, who had climbed down the canyon, the fire department told WBBM-TV.

Using a “high-angle rope rescue system,” the three family members were rescued, firefighters said. The mom and son were flown to a hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.

Officials said the family is from Tinley Park, a southern suburb of Chicago.

Starved Rock Park, which sits along the Illinois River, has 18 canyons and is referred to “as one of the most stunning spots in Illinois,” the Department of Natural Resources says.

Others have referred to it as the “Grand Canyon of the Midwest.”

Utica is about a 90-mile drive southwest from Chicago.

This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 9:08 AM with the headline "7-year-old and mom fall 30 feet from canyon at Illinois state park, officials say."