Body of Penn Hills man recovered at Creek Falls in South Huntingdon

A 23-year-old man’s body was recovered Sunday morning at Creek Falls on Jacobs Creek in South Huntingdon following a reported drowning on Saturday.

The Westmoreland County Coroner’s office identified the man as Deonte Elliot Johns of Sampson Street in Penn Hills.

According to the coroner, Johns jumped from a rock into the water but did not resurface. Divers from the Greensburg fire department’s dive team recovered him.

The cause and manner of Johns’ death were pending final autopsy and toxicology results, the coroner said.

Turkeytown fire Chief Dan Pergola Jr. said Johns had been with a group of about 30 people.

The incident was reported around 5:45 p.m. Saturday, and Johns’ body was found around 11:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Westmoreland County emergency dispatch.

Dive teams from Greensburg, Murrysville and Collinsburg responded, Pergola said. He said they searched to no avail before and after dark Saturday before returning Sunday.

“It’s very hard to even search in daylight. It’s even harder at night,” Pergola said.

Pergola said Creek Falls is a popular party area where people typically jump off the rock ledge into the water.

Pergola said the water at the falls is about 20 feet deep. The danger is that it goes about 30 feet back underneath rock on three sides, which can drag a person under and leave no way out.

“It’s a very popular place, but it’s very dangerous,” he said. “It’s two miles into the woods just to get there.”

In addition to drownings in 2011, 2018 and 2020, Pergola said there have been injuries and missing people they’ve had to search for in the woods. The terrain is rocky and rough, and cellphones and radios for the most part don’t work.

In addition to being dangerous for those who go there for fun, Pergola said it’s dangerous for first responders, including the divers who have to recover bodies.

“We can’t tell people to stay out of there enough,” he said. “It just keeps happening and happening.”