Woman falls to her death near Tahoe while reaching for a branch

A 35 year-old mother of two boys aged 12 and 14 fell to her death at Eagle Falls within Emerald Bay State Park, just north of Lake Tahoe, California, while reaching for a tree branch, on Friday, May 31, 2019. The victim, Stephanie Williams, had lost her footing atop the waterfall after taking a selfie. Williams reached out for the tree branch after she lost her footing and fell to her death.

Williams remembered

Williams has been portrayed by her survivors as a motherly person who was loving, supportive and nurturing to those she encountered. Her younger brother described Williams as more a "mother" to him than an older sibling. Williams, who worked as an an esthetician, was one of nine children growing up, eight of whom were girls.

Dangers of waterfalls

Waterfalls can be dangerous to people within the vicinity of their summits. The soil around waterfalls can be very slippery and the fast moving water can cause people to lose their footing very quickly. It is highly recommended that people heed warning signs near waterfalls and that they exercise reasonable caution. It also is recommended that people wear footwear that provides the wearer a firm footing on the ground and is as slip resistant as possible. Sporting goods stores, Army surplus stores and uniform stores are good retail sources for this kind of footwear.

Emerald Bay State Park

Emerald Bay State Park is a 1533 acre park that is famous for a 38 room Scandinavian mansion that was designed by the famous architect Laura Knight. In 1994, the park was extended to include Emerald Bay. This enabled underwater collections, including sunken boats, to be protected. In the winter, Emerald Bay sometimes freezes over.