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A 38-year-old grandfather died after falling from a canyon in Starved Rock State Park in northwest Illinois.
Authorities say that Albert Cramer of Oswego, Illinois fell from Illinois Canyon, one of the park’s 18 canyons which is located along the Illinois River. The area, about 100 miles from Chicago in La Salle County, is popular with hikers, campers and hunters.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources said the man had been hiking along a bluff at the canyon on Saturday and fell 40 to 50 feet, according to 25News Now. The incident was reported around 4.30pm. Cramer was pronounced dead around 6.25pm.
Officials do not suspect foul play had a role in the man’s death.
The Independent emailed the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, which maintains the park, for comment.
The park was designated as the second state park in 1911. It has over 13 miles of trails, waterfalls, and sandstone overhangs and is home to several different species of trees.
The park is considered to be one of the state’s most popular attractions.
Cramer is survived by two granddaughters, four daughters and his wife of 10 years.
It’s not the only case of someone falling to their deaths from a state park this month. On July 13, Grace Rohloff, 20, lost her footing while hiking in Yosemite National Park with her father and fell 200 feet.
“She just slid off to the side, right by me, down by mountains,” Jonathan Rohloff, the woman’s father, told SFGate. “It happened so fast. I tried to reach my hand up but she was already gone.”
According to National Parks mortality data, 205 people have died from falls in National Parks from 2014 to 2019, the last year for which recorded data is available.
