Local
UC mountaineering club member dies after being swept away in West Virginia creek
Thomas Donnelly, 21, was hiking with a University of Cincinnati Mountaineering Club group in Tucker County when he was swept downstream while the group attempted to cross a creek. His body was found Oct. 12 after search efforts were interrupted by bad weather and fading daylight.
Thomas Donnelly, a 21-year-old University of Cincinnati student and member of the school’s Mountaineering Club, died during a hiking trip in West Virginia after being swept away in a creek, state police said.
Donnelly was among an eight-person group hiking near the Red Creek and Fisher Springs trails in Tucker County on Oct. 9. As the group tried to cross a creek, elevated water levels and swift currents made the crossing dangerous. Donnelly lost his footing and was carried downstream, according to West Virginia State Police.
A 911 call reporting Donnelly missing came in at about 11:30 a.m. Oct. 11. Search-and-rescue teams began looking for him, but suspended the effort that evening because of approaching inclement weather and diminishing daylight. The search resumed the following day, and Donnelly’s body was found at about 2 p.m. Oct. 12, police said.
The death has affected members of the University of Cincinnati community, Dean of Students Shaka Sydnor said in a statement. Sydnor offered condolences to Donnelly’s family, friends and classmates and asked the community to keep them in its thoughts.