A 42-year-old man who fell to his death earlier this month at Point Defiance in Tacoma while trying to escape the rising tide was identified Tuesday by the Pierce County medical examiner.
Richard Van Horn of Spanaway died of a blunt force head injury Oct. 9 after he tried to climb a cliff near the park's Dalco Passage Viewpoint and fell about 200 feet. The Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death an accident.
The incident occurred after Van Horn and his wife were walking along the shoreline beyond Owen Beach that afternoon. A spokesperson for Tacoma Metro Parks previously told The News Tribune that the couple were cut off from one another by the incoming tide. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the high tide was higher than average that day at a peak of 12.17 feet at about 5:22 p.m.
Parks spokesperson Rosemary Ponnekanti, citing police, said Van Horn tried to climb the cliff while his wife made her way back to the beach, where their vehicle was parked. She planned to meet her husband above, and she called 911 when he didn't appear.
Family of the victim declined to speak with The News Tribune, Ponnekanti said Tuesday.
When the incident occurred, Ponnekanti asked visitors of Point Defiance Park to observe signs and fences warning about the instability of the cliffs. The park's Five Mile Drive was closed to vehicle traffic in May after a geotechnical assessment found that ongoing erosion and slope instability was affecting the cliffs.
