San Jose Woman Dies After 150-Foot Fall From Davenport Cliff
DAVENPORT (CBS SF) -- A 20-year-old San Jose woman died Monday after she fell about 150 feet from a cliff in Davenport, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.
Raymond Oyos was celebrating a friend's birthday near the cliffs on Monday afternoon when a man came running toward them, screaming that someone had fallen down to the beach.
The victim, later identified as 20-year-old Jennifer Diaz Ocampo, fell off the cliff after unstable ground beneath her feet gave way.
"Some guy was screaming – 'She fell! She fell!'" he said. "So we all rushed over there. Some people got their clothes off and tried swimming to her. But they couldn't get there."
"This young lady got to about a foot of the cliff's edge. She was looking over when the ground gave way beneath her. She fell about 150 feet," said Santa Cruz County Sheriff's office spokesperson Sgt. Chris Clark.
Ocampo initially survived the fall, but rescuers found it challenging to reach her by land or water. They were quickly running out of time and options.
A Santa Cruz Harbor Patrol responded to the scene ended up turning away, due to the rough water conditions.
Oyos said others also scaled down to the beach, but the cliff was unstable.
"There were rocks falling on them and everything," he said. "They were trying to help her so the water won't cave in on her. They are all scratched up and bleeding and everything."
"That area proved to be really challenging because the only way to extricate her was by air," said Clark.
At around 4:02 p.m. firefighters responded with a helicopter and began a rescue attempt.
"They sent someone down [from the helicopter]," Oyos said. "They came back up with the person."
The helicopter was in the process of airlifting Ocampo to the hospital when she died from her injuries.
On Tuesday, a single rose could be found near the cliff where Ocampo plummeted to her death in what investigators believe was a tragic accident.
"We don't suspect that foul play was involved; that anyone wanted to hurt this young woman," said Clark. "It's just unfortunate that she went to a place that was breathtaking to look at, but was very precarious."
