Indiana man dies after falling from Puerto Rico cliff while filming a TikTok video
By Zoe Sottile, CNN
An Indiana man died after falling from a cliff in Puerto Rico while trying to make a video for TikTok, according to his family.
Edgar Garay, 27, of Indiana, was on a recreational day trip to the southwestern coast of Puerto Rico on January 29 when he fell off a 70-foot coastal cliff near the lighthouse in Cabo Rojo, according to a news release from the US Coast Guard.
The fall was reported to the Coast Guard that evening and Garay’s body was recovered the next day by a Puerto Rico Emergency Dive Unit.
Edgar’s brother, Carlos Garay, called his sibling a “daredevil,” according to CNN affiliate WTHR. Carlos was not in Puerto Rico and said a cousin had taken his brother sightseeing along the cliffs at that time.
“My brother has a TikTok account that he loved to upload videos to,” said Carlos. “Unfortunately, that was what he was trying to do when he was closer to the edge than he should have been.”
Carlos has set up a verified GoFundMe to cover the costs of transporting his brother’s body back to Indiana.
“Our family is now on a mission to bring our lovable sibling home so that he can be laid to rest among friends and family,” he wrote in the fundraiser description.
Coast Guard officials also expressed condolences to Garay’s family in the release.
“We express our most heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of Edgar Garay and pray they find closure and strength during this most difficult time,” said Captain José E. Díaz, Coast Guard Sector San Juan commander, in the release.
“We appreciate the efforts of all the Coast Guard, Puerto Rico Police and partner agency emergency responders, especially the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Bureau dive unit that was able to locate Mr. Garay’s body in such a highly inaccessible and challenging environment.”
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