A man fell to his death from a cliff at Bonny Doon in the early morning hours of Saturday, June 6.
According to Cal Fire CZU, around 1:30am, a man in his early 20s fell halfway down a cliff at Bonny Doon Beach and landed mid-cliff. Although rescuers were able to recover him, the fall had killed him.
Members of Cal Fire, City of Santa Cruz Fire, Calif. State Parks, Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office, Santa Cruz Police, and U.S. Coastside Guard all responded to the emergency.
It was initially reported that a male had fallen off the cliff into the ocean below. Emergency responders arrived on scene and proceeded onto the beach to search the surf for any signs of a victim.
Per the reporting parties, the victim fell from the cliff on the south side of the cove, and the reporting parties were unable to locate the victim after the fall.
Santa Cruz Police officers arrived on scene and launched a drone into the sky to assist with the search. With the aid of the drone, SCPD personnel located a motionless victim on a rock shelf at the point of the cove, approximately 50’ below the cliff edge. Santa Cruz Fire, Cal Fire, State Parks, AMR and SCPD personnel relocated from the beach up onto the cliff edge and began to set up a rope rescue system.
Two Santa Cruz Firefighters were lowered from the cliff edge down to the rock shelf below via the rope system. Once on the shelf, fire personnel assessed the victim and determined that he was deceased. Fire personnel then packaged the victim into a stokes basket and a hauling team raised the victim and the rescuers back up to the top off the bluff. The victim was then turned over to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office coroner.