Kurnell selfie cliff fall victim identified as US Mormon missionary Gavin Paul Zimmerman 
 
 Updated 
 
 A Mormon missionary who died at a popular whale-watching site in Sydney's south has been described as a "bright light" who loved spending time in Australia. 
 
 Gavin Paul Zimmerman, 19, from the US state of Utah, slipped while taking photos at Cape Solander in Kurnell yesterday afternoon. 
 
 The local Mayor said police had recovered a mobile phone with photographs of the teenager taken moments before he fell. 
 
 Speaking from the US, his friend Gio Grillo said he had promised to take photos of the area for her. 
 
 "He emailed me right before he left with the other missionaries," she said. 
 
 "We talked about things we were going to do after he got home from his mission and how excited he was to reach his one-year mark [in Australia] in August," she said. 
 
 "Then he said he might lose signal because they were going to the cliffs and so he said he would take lots of pictures and email me next week to show me." 
 
 Mr Zimmerman's parents, Raymond and Jeanette Zimmerman, released a statement through The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 
 
 "It is with deep sorrow and heavy hearts that we share the news of our son's passing from this Earth to return home to his Heavenly Father," it said. 
 
 "Gavin was a bright light in our lives! He was a great example to us all, and he loved his mission very much." 
 
 A spokesman for the church said its sincere condolences and prayers were with Mr Zimmerman's family and loved ones. 
 
 Ms Grillo said her friend was due to finish his mission next August and had been making the most of his time in Sydney. 
 
 "He would always write group emails to everyone back home and they would always say how pretty Australia was and how much he enjoyed being a missionary there," she said. 
 
 "He touched so many peoples' lives while he was in Australia for such a short time." 
 
 Mr Zimmerman died in the same spot where another man fell to his death last month. 
 
 Police have urged people to stick to the whale-watching platform and not to climb onto the rocks below. 
 
 Topics: lifestyle-and-leisure, travel-health-and-safety, environment, national-parks, conservation, nsw, sydney-2000, kurnell-2231 
 
 First posted ||||| Whale-watching tourist was taking selfies before fatal slip off cliff at Cape Solander 
 
 Updated 
 
 An overseas tourist was taking selfies moments before he slipped off the edge of a cliff at a popular whale watching spot in Sydney's south. 
 
 The 18-year-old was with a large group of friends when he fell up to 30 metres from Cape Solander in Kurnell. 
 
 Sutherland Mayor Carmelo Pesce said he had been briefed by senior staff and told that police had recovered a phone with photographs of the teenager taken moments before he fell. 
 
 "I've been told that the police have recovered a phone that has photographs on there of the young gentleman taking photos and he was extremely close to the edge of the rock," he said. 
 
 Mr Pesce said council lifeguards were alerted to the incident and travelled by jet ski to the area. 
 
 A young lifeguard dived about eight metres down to retrieve the unconscious man, before pulling him onto the jetski where he performed CPR before paramedics arrived. 
 
 The man was unable to be revived. 
 
 "The lifeguard that jumped in, I believe that he is distressed," Mr Pesce said. 
 
 Mr Pesce said the incident was "extremely sad" and urged those frequenting the popular clifftop viewing area not to endanger themselves by climbing fences or venturing too close to the edge. 
 
 "You're putting your life at risk and why — for a photo? It's not that important." 
 
 Visitors warned to take care 
 
 This is the second fatal incident at Cape Solander in six weeks, after a man aged in his 30s died in similar circumstances last month. 
 
 Mr Pesce said other popular local spots such as the Figure Eight Pools and Wedding Cake Rock had signage warning of the dangers, yet people still chose to ignore them. 
 
 He expected a further briefing on Tuesday and said he would consult with National Parks and Wildlife — which oversees the lookout area — to consider whether further safety measures were needed. 
 
 "I really want to find out exactly where…it happened, was there fencing? Was there any signage there? And if we've got to look as a community and as a council and a government to spell it out more, we will spell it out more. 
 
 "We will probably need to educate people more." 
 
 Topics: accidents, kurnell-2231, nsw 
 
 First posted ||||| A Mormon missionary from Utah died Monday when he fell from a cliff in Australia. 
 
 Gavin Paul Zimmerman, 19, of West Haven, was serving in the Sydney Mission, according to a news release from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and other missionaries were “at a popular sightseeing area” Monday when Zimmerman slipped and fell. 
 
 Zimmerman appears to have fallen to his death at a whale-watching location called Cape Solander near the suburb of Kurnell. The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported a teenager was with a group of friends when he fell about 30 meters. The news outlet quoted a mayor as saying police recovered a cellphone with photographs showing the teen had been close to the edge of the cliff moments before his fall. Lifeguards retrieved him from the water but were unable to revive him, the mayor said. 
 
 The LDS Church news release said Zimmerman had served in the mission since August. 
 
 Zimmerman grew up in West Haven and Roy and attended Fremont High School, where he participated in football and track. In a statement, his parents, Raymond and Jeanette Zimmerman, said their son was a “great example.” 
 
 “He enjoyed teaching people and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ,” the couple’s statement said. “He loved the savior Jesus Christ and his family, and we loved him. Gavin was a bright light in our lives! We are so grateful for our Father in Heaven’s plan of salvation. We know that we will be with him again one day. Our family will miss him greatly until we meet again.” 
 
 David Hales is the president of the Ogden Utah West Stake, which includes the Zimmermans’ LDS congregation. Hales said Gavin Zimmerman was a good student who began preparing to go on a mission for his church years ago. ||||| 
 
 A young man who died after falling from a Sydney cliff while whale-watching was a Mormon missionary from Utah in the US, who’d been in Australia for almost a year. 
 
 Gavin Paul Zimmerman, 19, fell at least 10 metres at Cape Solander at Kurnell in Sydney’s south on Monday afternoon. 
 
 In a statement Mr Zimmerman’s parents, Raymond and Jeanette Zimmerman, say it is with heavy hearts they share the news of their son’s passing and they will miss him greatly. 
 
 “Gavin was a bright light in our lives!” his parents’ statement read. 
 
 The grieving parents said their son was a high school track and football athlete who came to Sydney last August for a proselyting mission. 
 
 They said he had a deep religious faith and had served in several leadership positions. 
 
 “He was a great example to us all, and he loved his mission very much. He enjoyed teaching people and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Mr Zimmerman’s parents said. 
 
 A man who died after falling from a Kurnell cliff while whale-watching was a Morman missionary from Utah. Source: 7News More 
 
 Police, with the help of a rescue helicopter, found him floating in the water and pulled him out unconscious onto dry land. 
 
 Paramedics performed CPR but he could not be revived. 
 
 The 19-year-old died after falling from a cliff in Sydney on Monday. Source: 7News More 
 
 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints confirmed Mr Zimmerman was with other missionaries when the tragedy happened. 
 
 Missions are considered rites of passage for many Mormons, with men serving two years and women 18 months. 
 
 Mr Zimmerman’s death comes barely six weeks after a man in his 30s fell from the same popular whale-watching spot and died. 
 
 A man who died after falling from a Kurnell cliff while whale-watching was a Morman missionary from Utah who had been in Australia for almost a year. Elder Gavin Zimmerman was serving a Mission in Sydney. He was with other missionaries at Cape Solander when the accident occurred. pic.twitter.com/4l1TfdEbas — 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) July 24, 2018 
 
 
 
 
 
 NSW Police Chief Inspector Chris Hill urged anyone visiting the area to take heed of warning signs. 
 
 “Those rocks are very slippery. For your safety, we recommend that you stay up on the whale-watching platform and please don’t go down on the rocks,” he said. 
 
 NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service describes Cape Solander as “one of Sydney’s best whale watching spots”. 
 
 June and July are the best times to see humpback whales off the NSW east coast as they migrate north to warmer waters.
– Gavin Zimmerman promised to take lots of photos from a whale-watching lookout in Australia so he could share them with friends back home in Utah. He won’t get the chance. Before finding a cellphone with photos of Zimmerman close to a cliff edge, authorities pulled the lifeless body of the 19-year-old Mormon missionary from the waves Monday. Halfway through a two-year mission in Sydney, per the Salt Lake Tribune, Zimmerman had been with friends at the popular sightseeing spot of Cape Solander in Kamay Botany Bay National Park when he slipped and fell 100 feet. A lifeguard eventually pulled Zimmerman’s body from 25 feet below the water’s surface, but he could not be revived, reports ABC Australia. Zimmerman's parents call their son a "bright light" who "enjoyed teaching people and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ." Meanwhile, a local mayor is warning people not to climb fences or get too close to slippery rock cliffs at Cape Solander, where a man in his 30s died in a fall six weeks ago, reports Yahoo. "You're putting your life at risk and why—for a photo? It's not that important," Carmelo Pesce tells ABC, noting cellphone images show Zimmerman "extremely close to the edge of the rock." Per ABC, an American friend says Zimmerman "would always write group emails to everyone back home" and had promised to "take lots of pictures [from the lookout] and email me next week to show me." (These tourists suffered a similar fate.)