A California man is presumed dead by Oregon State Police after trying to jump across Devil's Churn Thursday.
Steve Allen, 67, tried to jump over the expanse of boiling hot water at the Cape Perpetua Scenic Area off the Oregon coast.
"Troopers and emergency personnel responded for a subject who had fallen into the ocean at Devils Churn," OSP said in a news release. "Fellow visitors attempted to rescue Allen but were unable to retrieve him from the water."
Evan Nelson was a bystander who saw the incident unfold and said other onlookers tried to pull Allen from the water by fashioning a line and raft.
"It was cold… he was struggling," Nelson told Yachats News, a local news organization. "And then it became hard for him to hold on. Then he let go. It was too late."
Witnesses said Allen suffered a sizable head injury when he fell into the water. At last sighting, Allen was unresponsive. At 6:40pm on Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard suspended their search and categorized him as presumed dead.
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