A teenage boy slipped on rocks near a 50-foot waterfall and fell to his death while at a national park in Washington over the weekend, officials said.
On Monday, park rangers recovered the 18-year-old’s “completely submerged” body at the Sol Duc Falls in Olympic National Park after he had fallen over the falls the day before, the National Park Service said in a press release.
Witnesses saw the young man go over the falls after slipping on wet rocks at the top, park rangers said. The teen resurfaced at the bottom of the falls before vanishing into the water again, witnesses said.
Search teams quickly began scouring the riverbanks upstream from the trailhead. They also utilized thermal imaging to look for the teen in the water, officials said.
His body was recovered the following day, submerged underwater and “pinned between the first and second falls,” rangers said in the release.
The popular tourist spot has been closed off to the public while rangers recovered the boy’s body.
His identity has not been made public by authorities.
The hike to Sol Duc Falls is a 1.6-mile-long loop with an elevation gain of about 200 feet. The falls split into as many as four channels before falling into a narrow canyon, according to the Washington Trails Association.
