Woman falls to her death during family hike in North Georgia

WHITE COUNTY, Ga - A family outing turned to tragedy in the North Georgia mountains. A Cartersville woman who was hiking with her family, died when she fell from Yonah Mountain in White County.

Jennifer Randel, 46, was with her husband and 6-year-old son Tuesday morning. It's a hike Randel has done many times in the past. Friends said she had a passion for fitness and loved to hike.

"This family had been coming here for quite some time. Her husband told me this was one of their favorite hiking locations," said White County Public Safety Director David Murphy.

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But Tuesday morning, something went terribly wrong. Jennifer Randel fell more than 300 feet off the side of the mountain.

"It was right on the edge of the rock face on top of Yonah Mountain," said Murphy.

EMS and fire personnel from several jurisdictions used a rope system to rappel down the mountain to recover her body.

Murphy said while this is a very popular hiking spot, it can also be extremely treacherous, especially after the rainy weekend.

"It's a very dangerous place, especially when there's moisture on the rocks, we expect some of that moisture may have led to this accident yesterday, the slippery conditions," said Murphy.

Randel's friends are in shock. They said she was the pinnacle of healthy living. They said she had a drive for happiness and the ability to make everyone around her happy.

Randel is the third person to die from a fall from the Yonah Mountain in the past 15 years.

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