California hiker found dead after falling from Oregon bluff and being swept into the ocean
California hiker, 25, is found dead after falling 20 feet from a rocky cliff along the Oregon coast and being washed into the ocean.
- Henry Minh Hoang, 25, of West Covina, California, fell Saturday while hiking in Oregon’s Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area.
- He was beyond a security fence in an area known as “the punch bowl” when he slipped and fell about 20 feet before being swept into the ocean.
- Hoang’s death is the eighth fatal accident at the popular site since 2009 after countless deaths in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
A hiker who plummeted from a rocky cliff on the Oregon coast and was swept into the ocean has been found dead.
Henry Minh Hoang, 25, of West Covina, California, was walking past a security fence at Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area Saturday when he slipped and fell 20 feet, Oregon State Police said..
His body was recovered from the shoreline at the bottom of a nearby cliff on Sunday.
Hoang’s death marks the eighth fatal accident in the popular area known to locals as “the punch bowl” since 2009, the Salem Statesman Journal reported.
Henry Minh Hoang, 25, of West Covina, California, was hiking Saturday in Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area on the Oregon coast when he slipped and fell 20 feet to the water’s edge.
Hoang’s death marks the eighth fatal accident in the popular area known to locals as “the punch bowl” since 2009, the Salem Statesman Journal reported.
Oregon State Police responded to the area around 5:00 p.m. Saturday to help search for Hoang after witnesses lost sight of him in the surf.
“According to reports, the victim was knocked unconscious from the fall and was swept into the ocean by surf,” state police said.
“Witnesses lost sight of the victim and the rescue operation later became a probable recovery operation.”
Rescue teams returned Sunday morning “when searchers were able to safely resume their efforts,” state police said, and it became a recovery mission.
The Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office, Nestucca Fire and the United States Coast Guard responded to assist the Oregon State Police.
Hoang’s body was found around 4:30 p.m. Sunday on the coast at the bottom of a nearby cliff, police said. He was taken to a local funeral home. Additional details about the hiker were not immediately known.
Oregon State Police responded to the area around 5 pm Saturday to help search for Hoang after witnesses lost sight of him in the surf.
Hoang’s body was found around 4:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon on the shoreline at the bottom of a nearby cliff, police said. He was taken to a local funeral home.
Cape Kiwanda has been reported to be one of the deadliest locations on the Oregon coast because the massive sandstone cliffs can crumble without warning.
Cape Kiwanda has been reported to be one of the deadliest locations on the Oregon coast. The massive sandstone cliffs can collapse without warning and several people have died from falls after passing safety fences.
Seven people died after falling or becoming trapped on the park’s sandstone cliffs between 2009 and 2016, the Statesman Journal reported. The outlet also reported that 11 people died on the cape between 1960 and 1972, and there were countless deaths in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
The Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation has tried to keep people away from the most dangerous areas of the popular site, including a security fence.