HUNTER — A 15-year-old Brooklyn boy drowned Saturday at Fawn’s Leap, a waterfall and swimming hole located on Kaaterskill Creek that has been the site of several deaths and rescues in recent years, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.
The boy disappeared after jumping off a low ledge near the base of the falls while swimming with a group of friends shortly before noon, according to the sheriff’s office. Investigators believe the hydraulic current caused by the waterfall was too strong for him to escape.
Three of the teen’s friends entered the water and attempted to pull him out, but they were “unable to reach him as they started to get pulled under as well,” according to the sheriff’s office.
Forest rangers with the state Department of Conservation pulled the boy’s body from the creek approximately 20 minutes after he went in. Paramedics on scene could not resuscitate him, the sheriff’s office said. He was taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The boy’s identity was not public as of Monday morning.
Fawn’s Leap is one of several unsanctioned swimming holes at the base of the Catskill Mountains that draw large crowds in warm months. Rescuers have been called to the site dozens of times in recent years as its popularity grew on social media. A 16-year-old boy from Brooklyn drowned at the waterfall in 2023.
The swimming hole is one of several deep pools on the Kaaterskill Creek, a brook that spills down from the northern Catskills and winds back and forth over Route 23A, one of the few roads through the mountain range. Its sides are abutted by steep cliffs, the highest of which is 30 feet above the surface of the water, Greene County Sheriff Pete Kusminsky told the Times Union in 2023.
Local adventurers have been swimming at Fawn’s Leap for many years, but the spot has become more popular with out-of-town visitors with the rise of social media, smartphones and GPS technology. YouTube videos about exploring the Catskills include directions for how to reach the spot and show dozens of people ringing the cliffs around Fawn’s Leap, with many attempting flips and other acrobatics before they hit the water. Some of the videos have been viewed more than 100,000 times.
Sites around the Catskills have become overcrowded since the beginning of the pandemic, when COVID shutdowns created a surge in outdoor recreation. The Kaaterskill Clove area, which includes Kaaterskill Falls, has seen a surge in visitation, leading state officials to call for measures to restrict visitation.
A report released earlier this month by the state DEC recommended implementing a reservation system and manned entry points to limit visitors to the area to reduce swimming and hiking crowds.