Alabama teen drowns after getting caught in river current, going over waterfall

Published 3:30 pm Friday, June 12, 2020

Rescue crews have pulled the body of an 18-year-old from waters at the bottom of Little River Falls in Alabama.

The National Park Service said the teenager, identified as Michael Andrew McCollum, of Jefferson County, had been swimming with friends on the river above the waterfall around 5:20 p.m. Thursday.

His friends got off the river about 80 feet before the waterfall, but McCollum got caught up in a current and was seen going over the waterfall and never resurfaced, the park service said. The waterfall drops approximately 45 feet.

Divers from Fischer Rescue Squad located the victim’s body and recovered him at 6:37 p.m., news outlets reported. The DeKalb County Coroner pronounced McCollum dead at 7:40 p.m.