CALGARY -- Meaghen MacEachern-Sendyk and her daughter were hiking at Bow Falls last weekend when they spotted two people climb down a small cliff for an apparent selfie, with one sitting dangerously close to rushing water.
At first, MacEachern-Sendyk thought the pair were in need of help — until she saw them taking photos.
“There was evidently no thought given to safety or the sheer danger of what we were witnessing. It was very troublesome," she said.
In a video posted to Facebook, one individual is shown mere feet from the rushing white water while holding onto a tree root as the other appeared to be taking photos of the stunt.
“I really just was dumbfounded by what I was seeing," MacEachern-Sendyk said about the incident.
"It was very unsettling. My daughter actually started crying."
Bow Falls is about 125 kilometres west of Calgary, near the Town of Banff.
This incident happened the same weekend that a man went missing in a river near Lake Louise after climbing down on rocks to take photos. That search for the victim, identified as Gagandeep Singh Khalsa, is currently ongoing.
Parks Canada warns against people going off trails and putting themselves in dangerous situations. With fast-moving water, rescue missions can become difficult for both the rescuers and the individuals needing help.
MacEachren-Sendyk hopes people think twice before taking similar risks.
"It wasn’t about enjoying the beauty of where we all were. It was about pushing your own limits," she said. "Risking the lives of yourselves, but also the would-be rescuers.”
