Man atop cliff at Grandfather Mountain falls to his death, North Carolina park says

A man seen admiring the view from atop a cliff at Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina, was later found dead at the bottom of it, according to the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation.

The discovery was made around 10 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23, after rescuers began looking for someone reported missing in the park, officials said in a news release. Grandfather Mountain is about 110 miles northwest of Charlotte.

“The individual had last been seen at one of the park’s overlooks,” officials said. “After a search, rescue crew located a deceased adult male at the base of a cliff and recovered the body.”

Avery County Sheriff’s Office detectives classified the incident as “an accidental fall that resulted in a fatality,” the park said. However, the investigation is ongoing, according to officials.

The man was identified as 53-year-old Todd A. Buckman, whose last known address was in Troy, New Hampshire.

Buckman was visiting the park with his sister, “but was alone when he fell,” according to Associated Press.

Investigators did not reveal the name of the overlook, which is inside a part of the mountain operated by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, Inc. It includes “the famous Mile High Swinging Bridge that connects two peaks at one mile above sea level.” (The other parts of the mountain are operated as a North Carolina state park.)

The 5,300-foot tall mountain’s “primary allure is the exhilarating feeling of being on top of the world while looking out across views of mountain ridge after mountain ridge cascading to the horizon,” the foundation reports.

This story was originally published October 24, 2022 at 8:15 AM with the headline "Man atop cliff at Grandfather Mountain falls to his death, North Carolina park says."