Crime & Safety

Illinois Woman Jumps Into Niagara Falls Gorge With Son, Dies: Police

Police believe the 34-year-old woman and 5-year-old boy intentionally jumped 90 feet into the frozen gorge below after climbing over a rail.

A 5-year-old Illinois boy remains in critical condition after police said that his 34-year-old mother and the boy jumped 90 feet off a cliff at Niagara Falls State Park this week.
A 5-year-old Illinois boy remains in critical condition after police said that his 34-year-old mother and the boy jumped 90 feet off a cliff at Niagara Falls State Park this week. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

ILLINOIS — A 34-year-old Illinois woman died earlier this week after police said they believe she jumped intentionally 90 feet off a cliff and into a gorge at Niagara Falls with her 5-year-old son, police said this week.

The woman has not been publicly identified as of Friday, but police said she climbed over a railing at Niagara Falls State Park at about 12:30 p.m. on Monday, police said at a news conference. The woman had her son with her and the two plummeted to the bottom of the frozen gorge below.

Emergency workers were able to locate the woman and the boy, but were unable to save the woman’s life, police said.

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“We don’t believe this was an accident,” State Parks Police Capt. Chris Rosa said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The boy was air-lifted to a Buffalo, New York hospital where he underwent surgery and where he remains in critical condition, police said.

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The incident remains under investigation.

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