Illinois woman dead, son in critical condition after fall from 90-foot Niagara Falls cliff

CHICAGO - An Illinois mother is dead, and her 5-year-old son is in critical condition after the two fell from a 90-foot cliff at the Niagara Falls State Park on Monday, according to officials.

"The investigation is ongoing, but we don’t believe it is an accident," State Parks Police Capt. Chris Rola said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.

The 34-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, climbed over a railing at the park with her son in tow about 12:30 p.m., police said. The pair plummeted to the bottom, hitting the frozen banks of the Niagara Falls gorge, police said.

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Emergency responders attempted to rescue both the woman and the boy, but they were unable to save the woman’s life, police said.

The boy was airlifted to John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, NewYork, where he underwent surgery and remains in critical condition, police said.

The investigation is ongoing, police said.