MI Man Sadly Dies After Falling From Cliff at Sturgeon River Gorge

While hiking this past Monday afternoon, a 75-year-old man slipped and fell off a cliff at the Upper Penninsula's Sturgeon River Gorge.

75-year-old Douglas Brent Welker, of Pelkie, was hiking down a trail near the waterfall when he slipped and fell off a 20-foot cliff. The man struck his head on impact and was pronounced dead on the scene.

According to TV6, at about 12:15 p.m. on August 16, troopers were dispatched to a hiker who had fallen off a cliff at the Sturgeon River Gorge in Houghton County’s Laird Township.

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I've never been to Sturgeon River Gorge but The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service describes the area as being nothing but wilderness with a few overgrown logging roads that are hard to find and follow.

It sounds like he was walking in a relatively rough area and simply got too close to the edge and fell. I have a huge fear of heights and this truly sounds like one of the worst ways to lose your life.

It's so sad to think that this was someone's father or grandfather that was tragically killed. It's not clear if the man was with someone or out alone walking along the trail when he fell.

This isn't the first incident that we've heard this year about someone falling off a cliff and dying in Northern Michigan. A 21-year-old also fell to his death last month at Miners Castle in the Upper Penninsula. He stepped over a fence that runs along the top of the cliff, lost his footing, and fell 100 feet to his death.

Another man back in July intentionally jumped to his death at Arch Rock on Mackinac Island.