20-year-old college student falls 100 feet off cliff to her death
A 20-year-old college student plummeted 100 feet to her death off a cliff during a school trip last weekend.
Andrea Norton and a group of other Briar Cliff University environmental science students were visiting the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest in Arkansas from their campus in Sioux City, Iowa, on April 13 when the incident took place.
The South Dakota native was posing for a photo at the popular Hawksbill Crag, also known as Whitaker Point, with some classmates when she lost her footing and tumbled off the hiking attraction, the Associated Press reports.
Although it is considered one of Arkansas’ most photographed spots, Hawksbill Crag has been the site of multiple deaths by unintentional falls in recent years, including that of a 19-year-old University of Arkansas coed in 2016.
Briar Cliff University released a statement on Saturday following Norton's tragic death.
"Our deepest condolences and prayers go to the family and friends of BCU student Andrea Norton," the university wrote on Facebook. "Andrea was a passionate environmental science major, exemplary student and dedicated athlete. She lived BCU’s values in everything she did from the classroom to the court and everywhere she went. Andrea made a tremendous impact on the BCU community and everyone she met and will be greatly missed. Please keep her family, friends and BCU family in your thoughts and prayers."
Norton's family remembered her as a passionate woman who "maintained her fierce love for life, her friends and her family" and who "inspired those who knew her to be the best version of themselves, helped them reach their own goals and had such compassion for everything."
"Her smile could light up a room and she brought joy to all around her," her obituary read. "Her light, courage and drive is what drew people to her."
Norton's death comes on the heels of another tragic incident involving Fordham University student Sydney Monfries, who fell 40 feet after climbing an off-limits clock tower on her school's campus early on Sunday morning and later died from her injuries. She was 22 years old and less than one month from graduation.
