A 20-year-old Kentucky man died in a horrifying accident after slipping and plunging from a 177-foot waterfall in Oregon while posing for photos in an area that had been closed to visitors.
Zachary Mertens, of Burlington, Kentucky, was visiting Silver Falls State Park when the tragedy unfolded late Monday night at South Falls, one of the park’s best-known waterfalls.
According to Oregon State Police, Mertens had crossed into a restricted area near the top of the falls to take photographs when he suddenly lost his footing.
Police said Mertens “crossed into a closed off area to pose for photographs at the top of the waterfall” before slipping and falling into the water below.
South Falls drops approximately 177 feet. Silver Falls State Park is located roughly 50 miles south of Portland and about 20 miles east of Salem, Oregon’s capital.
Park officials and another visitor rushed to try to save Mertens after the fall, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
“It was a pretty horrific accident,” Chris Gilliand, a former Silver Falls State Park manager who now serves as a regional manager, told The Statesman Journal. “A very tough situation.”
Mertens was remembered as an athlete who had played basketball for his high school team in Bellevue, Kentucky, as well as for the Moss Elite club basketball program.
Photos shared on social media show the young athlete proudly posing on the basketball court with trophies.
Mertens is survived by his parents, Jason and Alicia Mertens, and his older brother, 24-year-old RJ Mertens.