Elijah R Keller

Elijah R Keller

August 6, 1985 - Paradise, California
June 18, 2001 - Crooked River Ranch, Oregon

'I AM FREE'

Elijah R. Keller of Crooked River Ranch died June 18, 2005. He was 15.

A graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday at Terrebonne Pioneer Cemetery.

He was born August 6, 1985 in Paradise, California. He moved with his family to Crooked River Ranch in 1998.

He was a student.

He enjoyed skateboarding, bicycling, rock climbing, hiking, swimming, fishing and almost anything to do with the outdoors. He also enjoyed art.

His survivors include:
Parents, Michael and Patricia of Crooked River Ranch
Sister, Amity Cornell Keller, of Pasadena, Texas.

Donations for funeral expenses may be made to Michael and Patricia Keller, c/o River Rim RV Park/Nadara Lewis, PO Box 841, Crooked River Ranch, OR 97760.

Redmond Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

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Boy dies after fall into gorge

Boy was conscious after the fall and at the time of the rescue

By Tom Peterson and Jason Moore

Published: June 19. 2001 - The Bend Bulletin

CROOKED RIVER RANCH — A 15-year-old Crooked River Ranch boy who fell 18-25 feet Monday afternoon onto a narrow ledge in the Crooked River Gorge died Monday evening from injuries sustained in the fall.

Elijah Keller and two friends were climbing around the rim of the gorge near his home at the River Rim RV Park on Commercial Loop in Crooked River Ranch about 3 p.m. when Keller slid down the cliff and was hit in the head with a rock.

Ryan VanValkenburgh, 15, said he, Keller and Chris Dearing, 15 — friends who often hiked around the gorge rim — had decided to climb down the cliff.

"We told him (Keller) the rocks were loose and he might fall," VanValkenburgh said.

He said Keller attempted to go down the steep incline. He began sliding down the cliff when he lost his footing. He said Keller began picking up speed as he slid but rolled over and landed on a 2-foot-wide ledge, which stopped him from plunging to the bottom of the gorge.

Speaking at the scene under the assumption Keller survived the accident, VanValkenburgh said it was "scary" when his friend slid down the edge. He and Dearing tried to see if Keller could move before getting help.
"He said one of the rocks landed on him," VanValkenburgh said. "He said he was in a lot of pain."

Roughly 90 minutes later, Capt. Brad Rumbarger, emergency medical technician, was able to rappel down the cliff and pull the boy off the ledge.

He was conscious and able to tell rescuers where he hurt, said Patrick Reitz, chief of the Crooked River Ranch Rural Fire Protection District.

After rescue workers pulled the boy to safety, Crooked River fire medics worked on him in an ambulance as the blades of a nearby AirLife helicopter chopped the air.

Keller was loaded into the helicopter and flown to St. Charles Medical Center, where he was initially reported in critical condition, Reitz said in a news release. However, the teen was pronounced dead at St. Charles at 5:57 p.m. as a result of head and internal injuries sustained in the fall, a hospital spokesman said.

Keller had just completed his freshman year of high school. He had attended schools in Redmond and Culver.