Tourist Falls to Death While Posing for Photo Shoot at 177-Foot Waterfall

South Falls on South Fork Silver Creek at Silver Falls State Park in Oregon | Photo by Kelvin Kay, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A 20-year-old tourist plunged to his death while trying to do a photo shoot at the top of a waterfall in a U.S. state park.

Zachary Nicholas Mertens fell to his death after entering a closed area at the top of a waterfall at Silver Falls State Park in Oregon on Monday to pose for photos. The waterfall, known as South Falls, is 177 feet high.

According to a statement from Oregon State Police, Mertens, who was from Burlington, Kentucky, climbed a barrier at the top of South Falls’ upper viewpoint. He then crossed over the creek directly above the falls and “accessed a closed area to pose for photographs,” Oregon State Police say.

However, around roughly 6:30 p.m., while taking photos, Mertens slipped and fell into the pool below. Another person tried to revive Mertens with CPR before emergency crews arrived shortly after. However, Mertens died at the scene. It is unclear who was taking the photos of Mertens.

“It was a pretty horrific accident,” former Silver Falls State Park manager and current regional manager Chris Gilliand says in a statement to The Statesman Journal. “A very tough situation.”

The Marion County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team oversaw the recovery efforts. The Marion County Medical Examiner released Mertens’ body to Marion County Search and Rescue to complete a recovery from the base of the falls.

The news comes after photography was named the most lethal recreational activity in the Grand Canyon National Park and accounts for many of the fatal falls at the celebrated U.S. natural landmark.

Meanwhile, recent data has revealed how young people are increasingly being rescued from mountains after attempting risky climbs and hikes to capture dramatic photos for social media. In locations such as the Scottish Highlands, the number of mountaineering incidents involving people aged 17 to 25 has nearly quadrupled since 2022.

Influencers and the so-called “Instagram effect” are drawing inexperienced young people to mountain landscapes around the world, but many are finding themselves unprepared for the challenges they face.