Investigation into Deceased Hiker finds No Foul Play

The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office has found no evidence or any other indication that 16-year-old Jonathan Michael McKenzie’s death was anything other than a tragic accident. The incident occurred Sunday afternoon at a waterfall in Table Rock State Park. The teenager fell 50 to 60 feet and died while being transported off the trail by emergency personnel. Interviews with the witness and preliminary results from the autopsy are all consistent with the original reported findings that McKenzie merely slipped on wet rocks and fell to his death. The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office is in the final stages of wrapping up the investigation, which absent any further information will be classified as an accidental death.