Crews find body of teen who jumped from ledge at Ocala swimming hole, deputies say

Swimming hole located behind Hardrock Cycle Park

OCALA, Fla. – Search crews found a teenage boy dead after he disappeared when he jumped from a rock ledge at a popular swimming hole in Marion County Saturday morning, officials said.

"It's a really unfortunate lesson," said Glenn Knox, who owns the park. "They came in the back. They actually trespassed."

Marion County Fire Rescue officials received a call about a possible drowning at a limestone quarry behind Hardrock Cycle Park on the 6800 block of Northwest Gainesville Road in Ocala, deputies said. A 911 caller said a group of friends were swimming in the pit and one of the swimmers did not resurface.

When fire rescue officials arrived, they found 10 juveniles near the quarry, all 16 and 17 years old, who said the 18-year-old had gone into the water and hadn't come out, MCFR said. Three teenagers were found stranded on a cliff. Marion County deputies were called to assist with the search.

Firefighters and divers searched for the teenager, identified as Zachary Newton, 18, of Tampa, for hours before they recovered his body underwater at 2:15 p.m., deputies said.

"This is an extremely tragic situation and we never want this to happen to any family. The family that's going through this is still grieving," Marion County Sheriff spokeswoman Lauren Lettelier said.

Knox said no one is supposed to swim in the pit because overgrown weeds made it dangerous.

"It's hydrilla. It's like a seaweed. You walk in it, you almost have to fight your way out." he said.

MCFR officials said 21 firefighters were dedicated to the search and recovery effort.

Newton's cause of death has not been released yet, deputies said.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the boy's age was 18, not 17. Marion County deputies originally reported that he was 17.


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Troy Blevins is a Digital Content Editor who has been with Graham Media Group since 2012.