Oct. 15—TAOS — A California man found himself in hot water with the law recently after a failed attempt to climb to a thermal spring in the Rio Grande Gorge left him stranded and calling for rescue.

According to a news release from the Taos County Sheriff’s Office, 54-year-old Casey Waldman of Huntington Beach, California, was “cursing and irate” when another person called 911 on his behalf after Waldman became stuck below the west rim of the rugged canyon south of the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge on Friday.

Sheriff Steve Miera told the Journal said that while Waldman claimed he had fallen from the canyon rim, deputies learned after a rescue operation that he had instead become stuck while attempting to scale the steep gorge in search of a hot spring nature-goers frequented decades ago near the river’s edge.

Taos Fire Department, Taos County Fire and EMS and the County Sheriff’s Office pooled resources to bring Waldman back to safety.

Waldman was uninjured in the event and was subsequently charged with criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor.

“This was an unnecessary and avoidable expenditure of county and town resources,” Miera said.

Miera said that a trespassing charge was applicable in Waldman’s case because it’s illegal to access specific sections of the Rio Grande Gorge, which is part of the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument designated by President Barack Obama in 2013. Miera said it’s illegal to hike down sections of the gorge surrounding the 60-year-old bridge, which sits 600 feet off the canyon floor.

“What I understand is that it’s illegal for anyone to go hiking down into the gorge from that Gorge Bridge area,” he said.

Miera deferred further legal questions to 8th Judicial District Attorney Marcus Montoya, who declined to comment due to potential pending litigation in Waldman’s case.

In April 2024, the sheriff’s office charged a local man with trespassing after he descended into the canyon in the early morning hours to take night-sky photos, but online court records do not show a filing in his case.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation, which manages the Gorge Bridge, increased security at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge and closed the site to foot traffic last month following a string of suicides that have renewed calls for enhanced safety measures at popular tourist destination.

Efforts to reach Waldman for comment were not immediately successful.