A 20-year-old American tourist died on Saturday, 14 November, after falling into the water while trying to help his mother at the Blue Hole attraction near Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Police identified him as Wade Conner, a landscaper from Illinois who was holidaying with his family. Police said the family was visiting the waterfall in St Ann when Conner’s 45-year-old mother slipped and fell at the top of the falls at about 1.15 p.m. Conner fell into the water as he tried to help her and did not resurface.
Local divers began searching for Conner, and firefighters and police joined the response. The Jamaica Defence Force said a four-member Coast Guard dive team arrived shortly after 5 p.m. and found his body soon after entering the water. The team handed his body over to police.
Conner and his family had been staying at a resort in St James and were due to leave Jamaica on Sunday. His mother’s condition has not been publicly confirmed.