rome —
A Florida woman has died after jumping more than 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) while hiking in Italy’s Dolomites mountains, police in the northern city of Trentino said.
Police said her death Saturday was announced later this week after a next of kin notified her.
Michelle Alejandra Rubio-Leyva, 36, from Miami, was on vacation with her family when she fell on the Forcera Pordoi Trail, high in the Serra group of the Dolomites, police told CNN.
Known for its sweeping views and zigzag valleys, the UNESCO World Heritage Site is only accessible by cable car, reaching its highest point at 2,848 meters (9,344 feet).
Rubio-Leyva’s sister, who was with him at the time, alerted the emergency services, and a team of experts from the Trentino Alpine and Cave Rescue Service and a rescue helicopter descended on the scene, where the body was eventually recovered.
Emergency workers briefed local media on the incident, saying the two women left the path to reach a steep cliff top to take photos, when Rubio-Leyva slipped and fell into the ravine below. The family was airlifted to Canazei until Rubio-Leyva’s body was recovered, a local carabinieri told CNN. The recovery operation lasted several hours.
The hiking area is extremely dangerous and known for its steep slopes, loose gravel and rockfalls, which have killed more than 80 people in the Dolomites so far in 2026, an Italian mountain rescue team told CNN.
