A father died after bravely risking his life to save three boys who fell while hiking in Oregon.

According to Curry County Sheriff John Ward, 36-year-old Ryan Acord from Grants Pass was accompanied by his wife, two sons, and one of his son’s friends when they mistakenly followed Google Maps and ended up parking and taking the wrong trail north of Secret Beach.

The family unknowingly ventured onto Thunder Cove as the trail was not clearly marked. The hike seemed manageable until they reached a treacherous section near a waterfall. Acord witnessed the children falling over the embankment and slipped while attempting to save them.

Jordan Acord, Acord’s wife, made the distress call, and first responders discovered Acord and eight-year-old Nolan Haptonstall on the rocky beach about 200 feet below the trail. Paramedics pronounced Acord dead at the scene. A helicopter airlifted Nolan to Curry General Hospital in Gold Beach, and he was later transferred to a hospital in Portland, where he is expected to fully recover.

Search-and-rescue teams successfully reached the two brothers who had fallen off the upper part of the trail down the steep embankment. Rescuers found 12-year-old Kade Acord clinging to a small tree and transported him to Curry General Hospital for treatment, where he was later released. Eight-year-old Liam Stidham was found uninjured and reunited with his mother shortly after his rescue.

Once all the rescues had been completed, the US Coast Guard airlifted Acord’s body.

Secret Beach is known for its hidden beaches. Unfortunately, this area has experienced several incidents in recent years, with three people losing their lives in the last three years, leading to concerns about safety.

Acord, a former educator in the Lincoln Middle School district in Arkansas, had relocated with his wife and children to Grants Pass in 2022. His family remembers him as a courageous, brave, and adventurous husband and father who tragically lost his life while doing what he loved most.