The Boy Who Went Over Niagara Falls — And Survived!

The Boy Who Went Over Niagara Falls — And Survived!

On a warm July afternoon in 1960, the unthinkable happened: a 7-year-old boy went over the Horseshoe Falls—without a barrel—and lived to tell the tale.

His name was Roger Woodward, and he became the first known person to survive a plunge over Niagara Falls unprotected. That day, Roger and his 17-year-old sister Deanne were riding in a small aluminum boat with a family friend, James Honeycutt, near the upper rapids of the Niagara River. A mechanical failure left them powerless—and the current took over.

Within seconds, the boat was sucked into the raging rapids.

The boat capsized. Deanne was thrown clear and miraculously pulled to safety near the brink by a passerby. Honeycutt was tragically lost. But Roger, wearing nothing more than a life jacket, was swept over the edge of the 188-foot-tall Horseshoe Falls—one of the most powerful waterfalls in the world.

What happened next is still described as a miracle.

Battered but alive, Roger surfaced in the turbulent pool below. Tourists on the Maid of the Mist boat watched in horror and disbelief as the boy bobbed in the mist. Quick-thinking crew members threw him a life ring and pulled him aboard. He was bruised, bleeding, and shaken—but incredibly, he had survived.

Doctors later said the life jacket saved his life, cushioning some of the impact and keeping him afloat amid the chaos.

More Than a Miracle

Roger’s story quickly made international headlines. To this day, it’s considered one of the most astonishing survival stories in Niagara’s long and dramatic history—often filled with daredevils and stunts. But Roger wasn’t a daredevil. He was just a little boy caught in nature’s fury—and somehow, spared by it.

Today, his story is a quiet legend told by guides, shared by locals, and whispered over the roar of the Falls. A reminder that even here, at one of the most dangerous and majestic places on Earth, hope can rise from the depths.