DROWNED: Rikki Dornan from Kempsey was killed when he fell from Ebor Falls.
The body of a man has been found in a waterfall between Armidale and Dorrigo, nearly one week after he accidentally tumbled over the edge while taking a break during a road trip.
A tourist who was believed to be bushwalking near Ebor Falls, about 80km east of Armidale, spotted the body of Rikki Dornan half submerged be- tween the second and third waterfalls about 9.30am on Saturday.
The tourist called emergency services, who recovered the 37-year-old Kempsey man’s body from the water with a helicopter about 6.30pm on Sunday.
Mr Dornan was driving with his wife and a friend from Armidale to Kempsey on Sunday, March 3, when the group stopped at Ebor Falls for a short break about 6pm, police said.
Witnesses told police that Mr Dornan walked to the lookout, where he took some photographs, before walking onto a rock ledge at the top of the falls.
He lost his balance and stumbled head-first over the edge.
At Ebor Falls, in the Guy Fawkes River National Park, the Guy Fawkes River drops about 100 metres over two rock faces, before plunging into a sheer gorge.
Mr Dornan’s son paid tribute to his father on Facebook, saying he wished he could have spoken to him one last time.
“You will always be my dad, my hero, my left hand man. Love ya dad,” he wrote.
“R.I.P my father. You will always be apart of me. If I could of just talked to you that one last time.”
Sergeant Laurie Cattell said State Emergency Service volunteers abseiled down the falls, before the PolAir helicopter recovered the body.
Emergency services had to call off their search for Mr Dornan last week due to heavy rain in the area and the flooding of the Guy Fawkes River, which flows over the falls.
“Obviously the water level had reduced due to the rain stopping and he was spotted by a passing tourist,” Sergeant Cattell said.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
– Sydney Morning Herald