Michelle Rubio Leiva, 36, dies in 300-metre fall in the Dolomites

Michelle Alejandra Rubio Leiva, a 36-year-old American on holiday with her family, died on Saturday, Oct. 17, after falling about 300 metres from an exposed section of mountainside near Forcella Pordoi in the Italian Dolomites.

The Trentino Alpine and Speleological Rescue Service, which ran the recovery, said she slipped at an exposed point on the route while holidaying with her family and fell approximately 300 metres, about 985 feet. Its account of the day goes no further than that.

Italian press reports add detail about the moments before the fall. L'Adige reported that Rubio Leiva had moved away from the trail toward a scenic viewpoint when she lost her balance, and the local outlet Il Dolomiti reported that she had left the path to reach one of the area's viewpoints. The family had been walking in the area around Sass Pordoi, a summit in the Sella group.

Where the fall happened

Forcella Pordoi is a pass in the Sella mountain group, above the resort town of Canazei in Italy's Trentino region. The accident happened at about 2,750 metres above sea level, on a route running between the upper station of the Sass Pordoi cable car and the Forcella Pordoi refuge.

Her sister witnessed the fall.

She was on holiday with her sister and other relatives, l'Adige reported, and Il Dolomiti said the group had planned to visit Rifugio Maria at the top of the Sass Pordoi cable car. The fall happened in front of her relatives.

The Sella group is a limestone range popular with hikers, climbers and mountaineers, and the cable car gives quick access to high-altitude ground. Routes beyond the upper station include steep, exposed sections, and the walking there was described in local reports as difficult because of the steepness and loose gravel.

The alarm and the recovery

Witnesses raised the alarm shortly before midday, and the 112 control centre activated the Alta Val di Fassa station of the rescue service and sent an air ambulance. A mountain rescuer who was already in the area reached the accident site and gave the helicopter crew precise coordinates to help locate her.

Medical personnel were lowered onto the mountainside at about 12:30 p.m., and a doctor pronounced her dead at the scene.

Her relatives were flown by helicopter to Canazei, away from the recovery area, before the aircraft returned for her body. The body was taken down to the town and handed to the Carabinieri, Italy's national gendarmerie, and the fire service.

The operation ended at about 2:30 p.m.

The Carabinieri are investigating the circumstances of the accident, Il Fatto Quotidiano reported. Nothing in the published accounts indicates that anyone else was involved, and the fall is described throughout as an accident.

Figures and times reported

The altitude where she slipped was about 2,750 metres, or 9,022 feet. The drop below that point was put at approximately 300 metres, about 985 feet, by the rescue service.

Il Dolomiti and l'Adige placed the fall about 200 metres from the cable-car station.

None of the published accounts says how far she had gone from the marked path before she slipped.

The photograph in the accounts

The official rescue account does not say she had been taking a photograph; it says only that she slipped at an exposed point while holidaying with her family. The photograph detail comes from Italian local media, which reported that she had stepped away from the marked path toward a viewpoint where she hoped to take a picture.

Who Michelle Rubio Leiva was

Rubio Leiva was born in Guatemala and later moved to the United States, where she attended Brigham Young University between 2008 and 2012, according to Need To Know. She worked in communications and marketing in Miami.

Friends and family described her on social media as adventurous and independent.

In 2025 she moved to Rome to work as a remote consultant, and Italian media described her as living there as a digital nomad.

What has not been said

Whether Rubio Leiva was still based in Italy at the time of the accident or had travelled back for the family holiday is not clear from the published accounts. Italian outlets described her as a Florida resident on a family holiday in the Trentino region.

The rescue service's statement remains the only official description of the fall itself. The Carabinieri have not published any finding, and no cause beyond a slip at an exposed point has been given. No official account names the viewpoint she was walking toward.

The Dolomites are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and draw millions of visitors a year, many of them to Sass Pordoi, where the cable car reaches a summit station about 2,950 metres up and an observation point known as the Terrace of the Dolomites. The summit can be reached without walking, while the hiking routes around it include steep slopes and exposed sections.

Mountain rescue organisations recommend staying on marked paths and wearing footwear suited to uneven ground, even where an area looks accessible. Loose gravel and sudden changes in elevation make high trails hazardous.

The published accounts do not say when the Carabinieri inquiry is expected to conclude, or whether its findings will be made public.