Crime Mother Dead, 5-Year-Old Son in Critical Condition After Falling 90 Feet into Niagara Gorge The woman and her child — whose identities have not been publicly shared — fell into the Niagara Gorge at the Niagara Falls State Park earlier this week By Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice Instagram Twitter Nicholas Rice is a Staff Editor for PEOPLE Magazine. He began working with the brand as an Editorial Intern in early 2020, before later transitioning to a freelance role, and then staff positions soon after. Nicholas writes and edits anywhere between 7 to 9 stories per day on average for PEOPLE, spanning across each vertical the brand covers. Nicholas has previous work experience with Billboard, POPSUGAR, Bustle and Elite Daily. When not working, Nicholas can be found playing with his 5 dogs, listening to pop music or eating mozzarella sticks. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 16, 2023 07:35 AM Share Tweet Pin Email A mother is dead and her 5-year-old son is in critical condition after they both fell multiple feet into the Niagara Gorge at the Niagara Falls State Park earlier this week, authorities said. On Monday, the woman and her child fell "approximately 90 feet" towards the bottom of the gorge near the Cave of the Winds complex, New York State Parks Police Captian Chris Rola told reporters at a press conference. The officer said that "life-saving measures" were given to both the mother and her son. The boy, he detailed, was "stable" and able to be transported to an ambulance to be brought to a nearby hospital with a head injury. His mother, however, died near the bottom of the gorge. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Woman dies and child seriously hurt after fall into the Niagara gorge. WGRZ-TV/Youtube N.Y. Woman 'Deliberately and Intentionally' Drove Car into Niagara River Before Her Death: Police Rola added that the woman and child had been with her husband at the park before they fell into the gorge. He noted that authorities were not aware of what transpired before the duo fell, but police were interviewing the husband, along with other witnesses who were in the park at the time of the incident. "The investigation is ongoing, but we don't believe it is an accident," Rola said. Woman dies and child seriously hurt after fall into the Niagara gorge. WGRZ-TV/Youtube Rola further detailed the incident in his press conference, telling reporters, "Although today it's nice out, it's very icy down there. It's a real tough terrain that our guy and our girls were able to get through and get to them and provide that life-saving care and do everything they could." "We were going to make every effort for that child that was still alive at the time," he continued. Woman dies and child seriously hurt after fall into the Niagara gorge. WGRZ-TV/Youtube "Niagara Falls is a tough place to perform rescues," Rola added. "The State Park Police, we have a swift water rescue team, we have high angle rope rescue guys that train all the time. Niagara Falls fire is great, and as you can see, the state police are a great partner with us, and their aviation crews [are] top-notch." The names of the woman and her son have not yet been released due to the age of the boy and ongoing investigation, the New York State Parks Police said in a statement, per Niagara Frontier Publications. The family involved, police added, is not from the Niagara Falls State Park area.