PACIFIC CITY, Ore. (KOIN) — A 19-year-old man became the 5th person to die at Cape Kiwanda in the last 8 months after he drowned there Sunday.
David Lopez of Woodburn was climbing with 2 friends in the Punch Bowl area when one of them fell into the water. Lopez and another man fell trying to help him.
His friends made it safely to shore, deputies said.
Cape Kiwanda is one of the most popular hiking spots along the Oregon Coast, but it’s also one of the most dangerous, especially if you’re not careful.
“The amount of visitors to the Pacific City area and Cape Kiwanda has increased dramatically,” Oregon State Park Manager Pete Marvin said. “Like a lot of areas along the coast, there’s cliffs, waves. People have to be careful, it can be a dangerous area.”
In February, 17-year-old Megan Owens fell off a cliff while hiking with friends at Cape Kiwanda. The Coast Guard suspended its search for her a day later.
Last summer, 18-year-old Elise “Ellie” Dickey of Corvallis and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Sean Yamaguchi, drowned at a beach just north of Cape Kiwanda.
Rescue crews found the body of 16-year-old Sprague High School student Rick Nelson in June after he went around a fence and fell from a cliff onto a rocky patch.
Marvin says signs in the area warn people about staying away from cliff edges. Others warn about the potential for high waves. Fences block off some dangerous spots.
“We have a fence that goes around the cape on top of the most traveled areas of the cape,” he said. “There’s signs that warn about danger, not going beyond the fence.”
State parks will hire a seasonal beach ranger for the summer to prevent more deaths.
“Not so much for enforcement, but to educate the public about hazards,” Marvin said.
Most of those who die at the cape are teens or in their 20s, usually from out of town.The Associated Press contributed to this report