Details behind dramatic Idaho cliff rescue revealed

Police in Lewiston, Idaho, have identified the "mystery man" who pulled a driver from an SUV dangling over the lip of a canyon, then vanished.

A passer-by, later identified as Jason Warnock, pulls driver Mathew Sitko from a SUV to safety after the vehicle left Mayfair Drive, traveled downhill and was stopped by a chain link fence just short of a 30-foot vertical drop onto the Bryden Canyon Road, Wednesday, April 15, 2015, in Lewiston, Idaho. Barry Kough/Lewiston Tribune via AP

CBS affiliate KREM reports that Jason Warnock, 29, of Lewiston helped pull 23-year-old Mathew Sitko out a GMC Yukon while the vehicle's front end hung over the canyon edge after a crash Wednesday.

Warnock told police he saw debris in the roadway while driving up Bryden Canyon, then saw the Yukon hanging above the cliff face. He said he ran up to the pedestrian foot bridge, climbed up above the cliff face then went across the embankment to get to the vehicle, KREM reported.

Warnock was unable to break the passenger side window with a tool but he was able to get Sitko to roll down the window and he pulled Sitko through the window to safety, police said.

Police said a chain-link fence was the only thing preventing the vehicle from crashing into Bryden Canyon, KREM reported.

As police arrived, Officer Eric Olson said the Warnock, "said he had to go, and he left." Warnock later told police he was trying to avoid attention.

Witnesses said the SUV was moving fast when it left the road, drove through a yard and over two terraces before getting snared in the fence.

The Sitko suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital. Investigators say some sort of mental episode may have contributed to the accident.

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