An Arkansas father made a devastating discovery on Saturday when he found his teen son dead after falling 200 feet from a bluff at Buffalo National River, officials said.
The Searcy County Sheriff’s office received a report around 11 a.m. that a 13-year-old boy had fallen from a cliff near Brewer Bluff, Fox News reported. First responders, park staff, search and rescue volunteers, and Survival flight all responded and began searching for the boy. Members of the Harrison Fire Department rappelled roughly 260 feet down, while park rangers went on foot near the river below, according to the report.
The teenage boy was identified as Kayleb Lynn Eddings. His father, Toby Eddings, found Kayleb unresponsive and was among the first in the search crew to find his son, according to local news outlet KHBS.
“Buffalo National River staff and I send our condolences to this young man’s family,” park Superintendent Angela Boyers said. “We also thank the responders from the local communities that showed up to assist with this incident.”
According to officials, Kayleb had been with a friend when he lost his footing near the edge of the bluff. The Department of Interior said the teen slipped from an overlook and fell approximately 200 feet.
Both the National Park Service (NPS) and the Searcy County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the incident, according to the report.
Officials reminded visitors to the park to be cautious, especially near the edges of overlooks, as terrain “can be rugged and steep.”
Kayleb Eddings was an eighth grader in the Ozark Mountain School District. His family wrote in his obituary that his “bright, jovial personality had no rival.”
“While there are many words to describe Kayleb, the most accurate and profound word is LOVE,” his family said. “Kayleb was loved by everyone who had the fortune to meet him.”
“There are no words to express the deafening quiet that has filled the space where Kayleb’s voice once reverberated,” his family wrote. “While that space will never be filled, one can find comfort in the whispering of the wind, the flutter of a butterfly, the beauty of a buck and most of all, the eternal presence of God.”