Man dies after jumping from 50ft cliff at Lake Powell in Utah

The body of an Ohio man who died after leaping from a 50-foot cliff into Lake Powell in Utah has been recovered, authorities said.

Cory Ryan Ehrnschwender, 36, died after jumping into the lake near Buoy 89 in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area at about 11.45am on Thursday, according to a press release from the National Park Service (NPS).

Witnesses called 911 after Ehrnschwender failed to resurface, prompting a search by park rangers, officers from the Utah Department of Natural Resources and Kane County Sheriff’s Office.

Specialists from the Utah Department of Public Safety Dive Team resumed the search on Friday and located his body via sonar in 30 feet of water, the NPS said.

His body was taken to Bullfrog, Utah, before being transfer to the Utah State Medical Examiner in Salt Lake City for an autopsy, officials said.

No cause of death has been released. An investigation by the NPS, the sheriff’s office and Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office is underway.

The NPS warned the public that it is illegal to jump from cliffs, ledges or man-made structures from a height of 15 feet or higher into Lake Powell.

Water levels at Lake Powell have fallen precipitously in recent years due to a two-decade “megadrought” in the southwest.