The body of an outdoors-loving British man who ‘slipped’ and fell to his death from a cliff in Australia has been found.
Fergus Cooper, 23, was reported missing on January 18, after falling into the Tasman Sea at Mystery Bay Beach, in New South Wales.
A body has since washed up on nearby Billy’s Beach and it has now been formally identified as Fergus.
Marine rescue volunteers and police crews were rushed to the area after reports of the 23-year-old’s fall. They frantically searched the water and surrounding areas but he could not be found.
Chief Inspector Shane Jessep from the South Coast Police District said Fergus ‘appeared to have had an accident and slipped on the rocks’.
Tributes have now poured in, with friends celebrating the adventurous thrillseeker.
A friend said: ‘Fergus was a top lad, always up for a challenge and one of the nicest lads around.
Fergus Cooper, 23, was reported missing on January 18, after falling from a cliff in Australia
A body washed up on nearby Billy’s Beach and it has now been formally identified as the 23-year-old
Fergus’s friends paid tribute to the ‘physically fit’ young man who ‘loved the outdoors’
Photographs from Fergus’ Instagram show him skiing, mountaineering, camping and enjoying his travels
‘Everybody was expecting the worst when we learned he was missing after falling into the sea, and now it is confirmed.
‘Fergus loved to travel and loved the outdoors.
‘He was physically very fit, and loved to push himself.’
Photographs from Fergus’ Instagram show him skiing, mountaineering, camping and enjoying his travels.
A scaffolder by trade, he was also an enthusiastic off-roader in his Land Rover, visiting the Lake District and fording swollen streams.
In June, last year, he documented his travels the Scottish Highlands with friends, climbing mountains and jumping into the choppy Loch Ewe.
He had conquered Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest mountain, in the depths of winter and snowy conditions.
He also competed in the gruelling Tough Mudder at the country estate, Broughton Hall, near his home.
The previous year, in January 2024, Fergus travelled to Vietnam and trekked mountain trails on motorbikes with a group.
And the globetrotter had also travelled to Morocco with his mates in 2022.
