By Tim Gardner
A man has died after falling off Grandfather Mountain, one of the High Country’s and North Carolina’s top tourist attraction sites, according to the Avery County Sheriff’s Department.
On Sunday (October 23) at around 10:00 a.m., reports were made about a person missing at the Grandfather Mountain Park area in Linville. Authorities say the male was last seen alive at one of the park’s overlooks.
Rescue crews located the missing man at the base of a cliff and recovered the deceased body a short time later. A preliminary investigation by the Avery County Sheriff’s Department said that the incident appears to be “an accidental fall that resulted in a fatality.”
The name of the male has not been released by legal authorities.
The Linville-Central Search and Rescue, Linville Volunteer Fire Department, Avery County Emergency Management, Watauga County Emergency Services, Avery County Sherriff’s Department and Grandfather Mountain State Park and Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation staffs were involved in the search for the man.
The investigation into this incident is ongoing.
Sunday’s deadly fall was an isolated incident, and Grandfather Mountain continues to operate then under its normal hours.
The Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation said in a press release that it is deeply saddened by the incident and extends its thoughts and prayers to all those affected.
More details will be published on highcountrypress.com as they become available.
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