Calif. man dies at Cape Kiwanda; was swept out into Pacific after 20-foot fall

PACIFIC CITY, Ore. (KTVZ) – A California man hiking beyond a safety fence at Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area was killed Saturday afternoon when he slipped and fell about 20 feet from a rocky bluff and was swept into the Pacific Ocean, Oregon State Police said.

OSP responded to the park just north of Pacific City around 5 p.m. to assist in the attempt to rescue the man swept into the ocean after the fall. He was identified as Henry Minh Hoang, 25, of West Covina, California.

Troopers said he was hiking past a safety fence, in an area known to locals as “the punch bowl,” though not to be confused with Devil’s Punch Bowl State Park elsewhere on the coast.

Hoang reportedly was knocked unconscious from the fall to the water’s edge and was sept into the ocean by the waves, troopers said.

Witnesses lost sight of the victim, and the rescue operation later transitioned into a likely recovery operation. It was suspended until Sunday morning for safety reasons.

Hoang was found about 4:30 p.m. Sunday on the shoreline, at the bottom of a nearby cliff. His body was recovered and taken to an area funeral home, OSP said.

State Police were assisted by the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office, Nestucca Fire and the U.S. Coast Guard.