A mother from Illinois is dead and her 5-year-old son is in critical condition after they both fell multiple feet into the Niagara Gorge at the Niagara Falls State Park at around 12.30pm on February 12, authorities said.
On Monday, the 34-year-old woman and her child fell ‘approximately 90 feet’ towards the bottom of the gorge near the Cave of the Winds complex, New York State Parks Police Captian Chris Rola told reporters at a press conference.
The officer said that ‘life-saving measures’ were given to both the mother and her son, per PEOPLE.
The boy, he detailed, was ‘stable’ and able to be transported to an ambulance to be brought to a nearby hospital with a head injury. His mother, however, died near the bottom of the gorge.
Photos obtained appear to show the youngster conscious while being loaded into an ambulance moments after the incident.
The woman was visiting from Illinois with her husband and son when they fell.
Police said that they were interviewing the husband as well as other witnesses, with Captain Chris Rola of New York State Parks Police saying the investigation ‘is ongoing, but we don’t believe it is an accident’.
A state police spokesperson on Thursday said the incident was being treated as a suicide attempt.
Joe reported Niagara Falls Firefighters were able to carry the boy to the elevator and bring him up to a parking lot on the island, from where he was taken to Oishei Children’s Hospital in a helicopter.
Rescuers traversed over ‘300 feet of dangerous icy terrain’ while trying to get to the victims, police said.
‘Although today’s nice out it’s very icy down there so it’s real tough terrain that our guys and girls were able to get through and get to them and provide that life-saving care and do everything they could,’ said Rola.
New York State Trooper James O’Callaghan told Buffalo News on Thursday that names would not be released ‘due to the possibility of this case being a suicide’.
He could not say why the family were visiting from Illinois.
