GREAT BEND, Kan. — Barton County officials say a 20-year-old man died when he fell down an embankment into a creek.
Sheriff Brian Bellendir said emergency crews were called to Wet Walnut Creek near Great Bend early Wednesday. Paramedics found Manuel Castillo in the creek and tried resuscitation but he was pronounced dead at a hospital. An investigation determined that Castillo fell about 40 feet down an embankment into the river. He was cut and bruised during the fall by rock, metal rods and corrugated steel used to prevent the embankment from eroding. That left him incapacitated in 2 feet of water.
A medical examination determined Castillo’s death was caused by accidental drowning.
