U.S. Man Missing After Waterfall Plunge

BANGKOK: -- Rescue workers on a resort island off the coast of Thailand were searching for a U.S. man who was missing after slipping off a waterfall, a police official said Monday.

Exon Gomez, 30, of San Diego disappeared Saturday after losing his footing and plunging into turbulent water on Koh Chang island, police Lt. Suphin Naoprakon said. A rescue team was dispatched from a nearby navy base to search for Gomez.

The man had been hiking with friends who told police he had clambered onto the waterfall before falling off and being swept away by the strong current, Suphin said.

A U.S. Embassy official declined to comment or identify the man, but said U.S. authorities were aware of the case and were working with Thai officials.

Koh Chang is off the coast of Trat province, 170 miles southeast of Bangkok.

--AP 2004-06-21

San Diego man killed in plunge from Thai resort waterfall

BANGKOK, Thailand - Rescue workers on Monday recovered the body of a San Diego man who was killed after slipping off a waterfall at a resort island off the coast of Thailand, police said.

Exon Gomez, 30, of disappeared Saturday after losing his footing on a waterfall and plunging into a pool of water on Koh Chang island, police Lt. Suphin Naoprakon said.

A rescue team dispatched from a nearby navy base found the body Monday, Suphin said. Gomez's body is being sent to Bangkok for an autopsy.

Gomez had been hiking with friends who told police he had clambered onto the waterfall before falling off and being swept away by the strong current of the water, he said.

Further details about the incident were not immediately available.

A U.S. Embassy official declined to comment or identify the man, but said U.S. authorities were aware of the case and were working with Thai officials and associates of the missing man.

Koh Chang is off the coast of Trat province, 170 miles southeast of Bangkok.

--AP 2004-06-22