On the Thursday morning, 36-year-old Cory Ryan Ehrnschwender from Cincinnati, Ohio, died while cliff-jumping at Lake Powell.
Witnesses reported observing a person cliff-jump from a height of approximately 50 feet approximately one-quarter mile south of Buoy 89 on Lake Powell. The man failed to resurface.
The National Park Service Glen Canyon Communications Center received a 911 call around 11:43 a.m. on Thursday.
An initial “hasty search” was conducted by officials Thursday. On Friday, the Utah Department of Public Safety Dive Team used side scan sonar to locate Ehrnschwender and divers recovered his body at approximately 10:20 a.m. in about 30 feet of water.
The circumstances surrounding the death are under investigation by the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office, and National Park Service. No further information was available.
Both the National Park Service and Kane County Sheriff’s Office expressed their condolences to the victim’s family and friends.
Officials reminded visitors of Lake Powell that it’s strictly prohibited to jump or dive off rock cliffs, ledges, or man-made structures (excluding vessels) from a height of 15 feet or more from the surface of the water.
For more safety information, visitors are encouraged to visit the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area’s website.
