Camper killed by falling tree ID’d as University of Alabama senior on trip with Catholic ministry pals

The hiker who was killed when a tree fell on his hammock as he slept on a camping trip has been identified as a 22-year-old senior from the University of Alabama.

Malachi Crain was deep in a remote section of Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest when an old tree came crashing down on him around 2 a.m. Saturday, killing him, according to university officials and first responders.

He was camping with three friends, all members of Alabama’s Catholic campus ministry, with another of them suffering minor injuries, according to Father Tom Ackerman of the St. Francis of Assisi parish.

“What I tell people is the fullness of life is not measured by the length of years but the love they lived their life with,” Father Ackerman told WBRC through tears. “By that measure, Malachi lived a full life.”

Crain was an aspiring software engineer who was double majoring in computer science and math, according to his website. 

He was preparing to graduate with a Master’s degree in May 2026.

The native of Greenville, South Carolina was also an altar server at St. Francis.

“He was our vice president of our liturgy for our student Masses. He helped arrange for different ministers, trained them and stuff like that,” Father Ackerman said.

“It was obvious he loved God, loved his fellow students and great love in his family as well.”

The Fannin County Fire Department Search and Rescue (SAR) team jumped into action when they received a call about an unresponsive camper trapped under a tree in “a remote and difficult to access location” of the forest.

A father and daughter who were camping nearby heard the students’ cries for help and rushed over, according to the Fannin County Emergency Management Agency. 

They remained with them in the five hours it took crews to reach them by helicopter.

The campsite was more than four miles from the nearest trailhead, and crews had to brave the rough terrain in the dark officials said.

Crain was declared dead at the scene.

After emergency teams arrived, the father and daughter hiked out with the two uninjured campers back to their vehicle.

A helicopter from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources safely extracted the injured hiker and Cain’s body from the scene.