Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable..

Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 62F. Winds light and variable.

The secluded, deep pools among the rocks are the big draw of the Water Wheel day-use area. Last week, a man hiking on the rocks fell some 70 feet, killing him. The circumstances surrounding his death have not been released.

The secluded, deep pools among the rocks are the big draw of the Water Wheel day-use area. Last week, a man hiking on the rocks fell some 70 feet, killing him. The circumstances surrounding his death have not been released.

A man fell to his death near Water Wheel early Thursday morning during a monsoon storm.

The Gila County Sheriff’s Office is investigating what occurred that led to Mark Gindlesperger, 65, of Payson, falling 70 feet off a cliff near the popular recreation site northeast of Payson.

Lt. Tim Scott said foul play is not suspected, but they are not releasing any details surrounding what Gindlesperger was doing at the time of the fall pending toxicology reports.

Gindlesperger was with a friend when he fell.

The fall happened around midnight Aug. 4 near Second Crossing off Houston Mesa Road near a waterfall.

After the fall, the female friend reportedly went back to her vehicle in the Water Wheel parking lot, but had lost her keys. She somehow got the vehicle’s hazard lights on. As a deputy passed the parking lot they noticed the vehicle and stopped. The woman said her friend fell backward off the cliff.

They were able to spot the man on a ledge, but could not climb down to him given the wet conditions, said Sgt. Cole LaBonte with GCSO.

Additional sheriff’s deputies, along with the Waterwheel Fire Department, responded to the scene.

Efforts were made by first responders on scene to get Gindlesperger’s body out but, due to the steep terrain the Tonto Rim Search and Rescue Rope Team was called out.

TRSAR Commander Bill Pitterle said they arrived around 1 a.m. and, working through the rain, rigged a vertical haul system. Ten TRSAR volunteers helped recover the body.

The mission was wrapped up around 4:30 a.m.

In July 2017, floodwaters rushing off slopes denuded by the Highline Fire killed 10 people at Water Wheel as water loaded with logs and debris rampaged down Ellison Creek and into the East Verde. Those killed were members of a Valley family celebrating a birthday with a dip in a creek that draws hundreds of swimmers every weekend.

Contact the editor at abechman@payson.com

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