A 17-year-old died after jumping from a cliff at Bellevue Quarry in Tennessee on July 12, an incident authorities and the property owner are calling "avoidable." Evan Marsch lost consciousness and drowned following his plunge, according to officials.
Police and the Nashville Fire Department responded to the quarry around 5:55 p.m. after witnesses reported Marsch jumped from the cliff with three friends. After surfacing, his friends noticed he was unresponsive and attempted to pull him to shore. His body later sank and was recovered by the Nashville Fire Department around 7 p.m.
Bellevue Quarry is private property managed by SCUBA Nashville, a SCUBA school and training facility. The company issued a statement expressing condolences for Marsch's family and reiterated warnings against diving or swimming on the property. "Jumping off cliffs is very dangerous," the company stated. "Sadly, this was an avoidable accident. We do not allow cliff jumpers or swimmers at the quarry and have many ‘No Trespassing’ signs posted around the property."
Marsch was preparing to enter his senior year at Spring Hill High School, where he was remembered as a talented musician with a passion for guitar. His obituary described him as "talented, bright, and caring."
A GoFundMe campaign was established by the mother of one of Marsch's friends to help his family with funeral expenses, as they were unable to retrieve his body from the medical examiner's office until costs were covered. The fundraiser, which surpassed $17,500, aims to support aspiring musicians in Marsch's name, fulfilling his family's wish to "live on through music."
Services were held on July 19. Marsch is survived by his parents, Christopher and Rebecca, siblings, and a nephew.