On July 24 at a little after 7:00 pm, park rangers were informed that a person fell from atop of the cliff in the Miners Castle area in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.
National Park Service (NPS) rangers and Alger County Sherriff Department personnel responded. Upon arrival, the victim was found in the water below the cliff. Alger County Rescue 21 retrieved the victim and Alger County paramedics pronounced the person dead at the scene. The person was transported to UP Health System hospital in Marquette. The main cause of death appears to be blunt trauma resulting from a fall of nearly 100 ft.
The person has been identified as Dominic Rotondi, a 21-year-old male from Lincoln Park, MI. He and some friends were visiting the area near the upper viewing platform at Miners Castle. For reasons currently unknown, Mr. Rotondi stepped over a fence that runs along the top of the cliff. He appeared to lose his footing near the edge and fell approximately 100 feet to the cliff face below and then into Lake Superior.
An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the NPS in coordination with the Marquette County Medical Examiner.
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