A 35-year-old man drowned Saturday afternoon after jumping from a cliff into the Highwood River at Nature's Hideaway campground, about 30 kilometres southeast of Calgary in Foothills County.
RCMP say he jumped at about 12:23 p.m. and did not resurface. Okotoks RCMP, Foothills Fire and Emergency Services and a Calgary Police Service HAWCS helicopter responded. He was found in the water and declared deceased.
Police say he was a resident of Mexico and had been visiting family.
It has happened at that cliff before
By 2019, three people had drowned at the site since co-owner Stacey Thachuk bought it in 2005. Saturday makes at least four.
The most recent before this one was Lual Ayach, 22, who jumped from the ledge on the evening of June 30, 2019, during a Canada Day gathering. He surfaced briefly, went under and didn't come back up. Three people went into the water after him. None could reach him.
Ayach wasn't wearing a life jacket and, according to his family, couldn't swim. RCMP said alcohol wasn't a factor.
Finding him took days. Crews used a helicopter, boat patrols with sonar, dive teams and a cadaver dog, working the stretch between Nature's Hideaway and the Bow River. His aunt, Sarah Ayach, visited the swimming hole the following afternoon because she wanted to see the last place he'd been, and told CBC the family prayed each night for his body to be found so they could rest.
She also said something worth reading again now. The family hoped his death would lead to better warning signs or some form of restricted access. This is a dangerous zone, she said, but there's nothing there, so people think it's a regular place.
Nobody is clearly responsible for the cliff
Nature's Hideaway is private property. The cliffs beside it are public land, which puts them outside Foothills County's jurisdiction. The county's stated position has been that it can advise people through the media and little else.
Thachuk has been open about her own position. On a hot summer weekend the road to the campground can be lined with more than 50 vehicles, and she has said she spent years trying and failing to keep trespassers off the cliff. In 2019 she said she was heartbroken as a mother, and that she knew some people were looking to lay blame given that more than one person had died in the same place.
The campground owner says she can't stop it. The county says it isn't theirs to stop. The RCMP issue statements. The local fire department has said it responds to roughly seven calls a year at that location.
What makes this stretch of river dangerous
Okotoks RCMP named two hazards in Saturday's statement, and both are worth understanding rather than skimming past.
Underwater rock hazards that aren't visible from the surface. And strong currents.
The first is what catches people who know the spot. The Highwood is mountain-fed and its bed moves. Spring runoff and summer storms shift gravel, drop rock and change depth from one season to the next. Water that was deep enough to jump into last August may not be this August, and there is no way to judge that from a ledge above it.
The second is why strong swimmers drown. Current in a river like this doesn't announce itself from the bank. The water is also cold enough that sudden immersion can trigger an involuntary gasp and rapid loss of grip strength within the first minutes, before anyone has a real chance to swim toward shore.
Saturday was hot, and it was the first day of a long weekend. That's when the access road fills up.
If you're heading out to water this weekend
Wear a life jacket, including in water you know, and particularly if you're jumping in. Neither of the two men described above had one on.
Don't jump into water you haven't checked from the surface, and understand that checking it last summer isn't checking it. In a river with a shifting bed, depth is a today question.
Going in after someone rarely works. Three people went in after Lual Ayach and none could reach him. It's also how one drowning becomes several. Call 911, throw anything that floats, and keep your eyes fixed on the person's last position so rescuers can be pointed straight at it.
Cold water moves faster than people expect. Even in August, mountain-fed water can take your breath and your grip within a minute.
Anyone who witnessed Saturday's drowning can access support through RCMP victim services, which was made available after previous incidents at the same location.
Sources:
Okotoks RCMP statement, August 1, 2026
Foothills County and MD Fire Department statements on Nature's Hideaway call volumes
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