Liberty University student dies while hiking with friends

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

BEDFORD, Va. (AP) — Liberty University says that one of its students has died while hiking with friends along the Blue Ridge Parkway over the weekend.

The university said in a statement that 20-year-old Jonathan Veldhuyzen was killed in a hiking accident near Bedford on Sunday.

Bedford Fire Capt. Matt Scott says Veldhuyzen was found dead in a body of water that evening at the Fallingwater Cascades National Scenic Trail.

Joseph McGowan, who had been hiking with the victim, tells The News & Advance (http://bit.ly/1TPyxwi ) that Veldhuyzen journeyed ahead of their small group of friends.

McGowan says the friends found Veldhuyzen's body face down in a small pool of water at the bottom of the trail.

Fire officials say they are not sure if the man died due to trauma or drowning.