Posted by Abby Normal It should be a reality check for all of us. What we do is often dangerous even when the explore seems mundane. It's easy to get complacent while exploring. We really should take a few moments to consider our exploring style. Do we maintain a bit of a safety margin? Or are we always right on the edge? Adventurous is fine, reckless can kill you and your buddies as well. Abby Normal

I've been thinking about that since seeing the post. It really does make you stop and examine what and how you do it or at least it has for me. I totally agree with what you wrote.

So sad to have heard about this. It's like a punch in the gut to think of her gone. It's a fascinating and exciting hobby but not worth a life.

Man that account from the boyfriend sounds absolutely harrowing its a miracle he survived...

never did much like drains or water for that matter..

I hope the family and all involved find some kind of peace and solace going forward

Posted by RescueMe1060 Her photo and story made it to the front page of fox news this afternoon. did she not have a UER profile?

She did not to my knowledge. She was big in the Instagram world and there isn't often much crossover between IG and UER. I never met her and did not follow her or her boyfriend. But a good friend of mine knew them and even hosted them here in Buffalo a few years ago when he was heavily involved in the IG exploring scene.

A sad and terrible tragedy to happen. But perhaps her death will serve as a warning to all the young Instagram explorers who often take some unnecessarily dangerous risks just to get a shot. I know she had a lot of followers and was looked up to by many in the IG community.

Posted by Juxobe Very sad to hear about this after just exploring a drain myself. If you are unsure about the weather or even if there is a small chance it could rain that day: When it rains, NO DRAINS. Even the best of us take these risks sometimes. I guess we are just the lucky ones. A great photographer has passed. Rest in peace Rebecca

Monitoring the weather conditions when undertaking draining or even exploring in canyons and such is very important. As we see here, the risk came from far away.

In the desert here, it is not uncommon to have flash floods many miles away suddenly sweep through a area.

My mom was in the desert with her uncle in the 80s doing photography, it was a normal day. Suddenly, a sound like a freight train was heard. He immediately yelled at her to run up the hill. They made it even as the water was at their feet.

No, it's not made up. A flash flood in a canyon is not that uncommon in the desert. It's wiped out towns and tourist areas here near lake mead canyons.

There could even be risks of any form of sudden water discharge from a plant, pool drain, etc.

Have fun, but take precautions out there everyone!

Posted by mohavewolfpup Monitoring the weather conditions when undertaking draining or even exploring in canyons and such is very important.

Very true.
In my experience, depending where you are located along the tunnel, you actually get more warning in a drain than you do a canyon because you hear the water sooner echoing through a tunnel than you do a canyon.

If the drain just gets smaller then you have more chance of making it safely out or to higher ground, however drains that have a creek or river leading into it gives you less warning as you don't hear the flood until it's in the tunnel &, depending on the size of the catchment, the height of the wave may already be enough to knock you off your feet by the time you hear it. Floods that I've observed in "shrinker" drains (even very long ones) have always come in a series of waves that roughly double in size.

A sad and sobering tale, a loss of one of us is a loss for all of us.

After reading Freaktography’s post that is mentioned as words written by the boyfriend I can understand better how desperate the tragedy was. Safety should always be a priority but this is an example that sometimes things that are so unpredictable and can’t really be anticipated can and do happen. There is lessons to be learned here and Rebecca will be remembered in my memory from this day forward. RIP.