The death of a 16-year-old boy in Racine over the weekend is renewing concern there about illegal cliff jumping.
Sunday divers with the Racine County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) recovered the young man’s body who they said jumped off a cliff at Quarry Lake Park Saturday night but never resurfaced.
It was news 28-year-old Marley L. told TMJ4’s Tahleel Mohieldin was sad but not surprising to learn about.
“So many people jump,” Marley said. “Hearing this tragedy the other day it makes me emotional because that somebody’s baby.”
After learning about the incident Marley was reminded of a similar situation that happened 3 years ago.
She said it was at the same that she rescued a different young man, who jumped off the cliff, from drowning.
“It’s hard when somebody is drowning they’re pulling on you and you don’t realize once you’re out there you're risking your life too,” she recalled. “You have to think fast. You have to act fast. It’s scary for anyone to have to do that.”
Life-long Racine resident Casey Mcleod said stories like these have been going on for decades, despite signage indicating no cliff jumping, fencing, and citations by RCSO.
“Signs are ignored,” he explained. “(They) do it anyway and then they share it on social media with their friends and the next thing you know there’s kids coming there every sunny day.”
He wants law enforcement to put up a barbed wire fence to stop people from accessing the most popular cliff among jumpers by the dock.
It’s a suggestion Marley said she doesn’t support, only because she believes, like the other measures already in place, it wouldn’t be effective.
Both agree that it’s an issue that won’t be solved by one group alone. Monday they urged parents and county leaders to come together before another jump ends in tragedy.
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