Greene County, NY (WRGB) — A 15-year-old boy from Brooklyn died after an apparent drowning at Fawn’s Leap in Greene County on April 18, 2026, authorities said.
The Greene County Sheriff’s Office said the incident happened around 11:57 a.m. at the base of the waterfalls at Fawn’s Leap, where the teen was swimming with a group of friends, also from Brooklyn. Investigators said the boy jumped off the lower ledge near the base of the falls and was caught in currents by the waterfall that were too strong for him to swim out of.
The Sheriff’s Office said three of the boy’s friends entered the water to try to pull him out but could not reach him and began getting pulled under water as well. A first-responding New York state forest ranger was able to reach the teen and pull him to shore, but the Sheriff’s Office said he had been in the water for more than 20 minutes by that point.
Greene County paramedics and Hunter Ambulance personnel began lifesaving measures, and the teen was taken to Columbia Memorial Hospital. Resuscitative efforts were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead, the Sheriff’s Office said.
An autopsy is scheduled for April 20.
The investigation is ongoing.
OTHER: Teenager found dead from apparent drowning in Fawn’s Leap, police say