Update: Man Dies After Plummeting 50 Feet off Cliff in Isla Vista

[Updated: Sun., Apr. 21, 2024, 8:20am]

A man died after plummeting 50 feet off a cliff in Isla Vista on Saturday afternoon after reportedly climbing over a barrier fence behind 6625 Del Playa Drive.

First responders were called to the scene at around 2:35 p.m., and county fire medics carried the victim from the beach up the Pescadero stairs, said Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesperson Scott Safechuck on Saturday. The patient was then transported by ambulance to Cottage Hospital’s emergency room in Santa Barbara, but he did not survive, according to a post on social media later that night by Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Raquel Zick, who said the victim’s identity would be released after his family is notified.

Supervisor Laura Capps, who represents Isla Vista, issued a statement Sunday morning in response to the tragic news. “We lost another life to the bluffs in Isla Vista yesterday — my heart breaks for this man and his family and friends,” Capps said. “This tragedy is a stark reminder of how dangerous these blufftop properties are.”

In her Sunday statement, Capps once again called on property owners “to do what’s right to help save lives,” echoing her remarks on Saturday hours after the fall “begging” them “to do the right thing and make your balconies safer by raising fence heights and other common-sense precautions.” On Saturday, Capps noted that “our office is providing financial incentives to raise fencing,” referring to a component of her eight-point bluff safety plan, which the Board of Supervisors passed in November 2023 following the death of 19-year-old Santa Barbara City College student Benjamin “Benny” Schurmer, who fell to his death from a bluff in I.V. in September of that year.

“We all need to step up and make Isla Vista safer now,” Capps said on Sunday morning.