Hiker falls to death off Oregon coast
A man from the Los Angels area died over the weekend in an apparent hiking accident.
Henry Minh Hoang, 25, was hiking along the coast in the Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area when the incident occurred, NBC News reported.
Authorities believe he’d trekked beyond a safety fence into perilous territory when he slipped and plummeted roughly 20 feet.
He was near a headland that offers visitors views of the Pacific waves colliding with the rocks along the coast, known as “the punch bowl.”
Officials believe Hoang became unconscious before being swept into the sea.
His body was recovered Sunday afternoon.
Hoang had been traveling from his home city of West Covina, Ca., located roughly 19 miles from Los Angeles.
The view off the coast has been advertised in many tourism guides, but the Oregon State Parks website makes it clear that the unstable bluffs are to be avoided.
“Beyond the fence, the cliff edge can — and will — crumble without warning,” reads the site for the Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area.
“It’s dangerous, and people have died after climbing over the safety fences,” it states. “Don’t do it. The views are spectacular from the established viewpoints, on the safe side of the fence.”
