Climber survives 2 days behind California waterfall before he's rescued by helicopter

A rock climber survived two days perched behind a roaring California waterfall before he was rescued earlier this week, authorities said

A rock climber survived two days perched behind a roaring California waterfall before he was rescued earlier this week, authorities said.

The climber, identified as Ryan Wardwell, 46, of Long Beach, California, was reported missing by family on Monday. He failed to return to his vehicle Sunday night following an attempt to rappel a waterfall in the Kern River’s Seven Teacups area, the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Wednesday.

By the time first responders reached the area in Sequoia National Forest on Monday, it was getting dark, and they were only able to find a possible location for the climber using infrared technology, the sheriff’s office said.

A first responder attempts to rescue Ryan Wardwell from behind the Seven Teacups waterfall in Sequoia National Forest in Tulare County, Calif.Obtained by NBC NewsOn Tuesday morning, the office's swift-water dive and search-and-rescue teams used a drone that located Wardwell in roughly the same location, in an apparent cavity behind the waterfall.

"Wardwell was found alive and responsive," the sheriff's office said. "He told Deputies he had come off his rappel lines and got trapped behind the waterfall because of the extreme hydraulics of the river."