BELLEVUE, Ky. — A 2025 high school graduate from Northern Kentucky fell from a waterfall to his death earlier this week while traveling, according to a release from Bellevue Independent Schools.
Superintendent Misty Middleton said in a statement that Zach Mertens graduated from Bellevue High School in 2025.
"This tragic loss has deeply affected our school community, and our thoughts are with Zach's family, classmates, friends and all those who knew and loved him," Middleton wrote.
Luke Ingrasselino worked with Mertens for a year after he graduated high school, and told WCPO 9 News Thursday his friend's death still feels surreal.
"I had just spoken to him, you know, maybe a day before or two days before, breathing, healthy, happy, of course, like he always was," Ingrasselino said. "It just, it didn't, it didn't seem real man, and it is still in the fog of all this does not seem real."
Oregon State Police said that Mertens, who's from Burlington, Kentucky, slipped and fell from a waterfall Monday at Silver Falls State Park, which is east of Salem, Oregon.
"While traveling, Zach was involved in a tragic accident involving a waterfall and despite efforts to save him, he could not be revived," Middleton wrote. "We are heartbroken by this sudden and devastating loss."
Oregon State Police said Mertens crossed into a closed-off area to pose for a photograph at the top of the waterfall. While posing for the photo, he slipped and fell about 177 feet, investigators said.
"We recognize that everyone will process this tragedy differently, and we want to ensure that our students, staff and other members of our school community have access to support during this difficult time," Middleton wrote.
"He was special. He was special to me. He was, he was special to his girlfriend of course, his mother and his father, wonderful people, and his brother," Ingrasselino added.
Counselors will be available at both the middle and high school for those who need assistance.
"I think we all know that we kind of live in a, in a weird strange world from time to time nowadays and people like Zach are the ones that kept everybody going," Ingrasselino said Thursday.
