Overview
- Connecticut DEEP, which received a call around 11:45 a.m. Monday, said responders found a fallen hiker at Sleeping Giant State Park who died at the scene.
- Authorities identified the victim as William Cooper Gatch, 23, a University of Georgia senior from Statesboro.
- Investigators say the fall appears accidental, and state environmental police are leading the case with the medical examiner.
- Gatch studied agricultural education, had been student teaching at Madison County High School, and was expected to graduate this spring.
- His family said he was hiking with his sister and asked for memorial donations to the Georgia FFA Foundation, with service details to follow.