Went to starved rock
some dude made himself into a pancake on the canyon floor
81-foot fall kills man at Starved Rock State Park
Milos Hrsto of Lake Forest fell when a branch gave way as he looked over a canyon rim
By Steve Schmadeke | Chicago Tribune reporter
12:19 AM CDT, September 3, 2008
A Lake Forest man died after a tree branch he was leaning against at Starved Rock State Park broke and he fell 81 feet into a canyon Sunday morning, Illinois Conservation Police said.
Milos Hrsto, 21, was hiking with relatives on Pontiac Canyon's upper trail when he stepped 6 to 8 feet off the trail to look over the rim, police said Tuesday. A friend said Hrsto was hiking with his older sister Jasmina, his brother-in-law and his brother-in-law's sister.
Hrsto, whom friends recalled as always laughing and making others laugh, graduated from Lake Forest High School a year early and had received a psychology degree at DePaul University this summer, friends said.
Neel Bhalala, 21, who has known Hrsto since 5th grade and ate dinner with him Friday, said they were making plans to take a trip to Istanbul over winter break. Hrsto, who was considering going to graduate school, loved music and being outdoors—playing beach volleyball or tossing a Frisbee, Bhalala said.
Related links
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Starved Rock State Park map
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Starved Rock, Illinois
"He was a big part of a lot of people's lives," Bhalala said.
Meagan Hermanowicz, 21, a senior at DePaul, said she's known Hrsto since they were in 4th grade in Lake Forest. She said he was outgoing and smart—someone not afraid to challenge teachers and other students in class.
"Every single memory I have of him is us laughing—until the point where my face hurt," said Alex Levine, a Loyola University student. "He was always that kind of person."
Hrsto was taken to Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru on Sunday, where he was pronounced dead. Results from an autopsy Monday were not immediately available.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is investigating his death.