Exact location of the cliff
Marion County, Florida (July 11, 2017) – Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Major
Crimes detectives are actively investigating the death of 17-year old Trey Austin Dagwan Cardozo (DOB: 12/17/1999) from Largo, Florida, after he cliff-dove into an inactive lime rock mining quarry located at the 6400th block of NW Gainesville Road in Ocala on July 10, 2017. He was found unresponsive in the quarry on Monday at approximately 3:45 p.m., by MCSO deputies. Cardozo passed away from his inj
uries at Ocala Regional Medical Center early Tuesday morning, and his cause of death is pending further investigation with the Medical Examiner’s Office.
Several hours before Cardozo’s accident on Monday, 13 people (12 adults and one juvenile) were arrested in a separate incident for trespassing on private property to swim in the inactive lime rock quarry located at the 2500th block of NW 77th Street in Ocala. On June 25, 2017, three juveniles were arrested for trespassing on private property in this same area. They told deputies they were swimming in the quarry and taking pictures, knowing they were trespassing on private property. No one was injured during these incidents.
Cardozo is the second person to have died as a result of trespassing on private property and diving/swimming in a Marion County lime rock quarry this summer. On May 27, 2017, an 18-year old male from Tampa drowned in a lime rock quarry at the Hard Rock Cycle Park located at the 6800th block of NW Gainesville Road. In all of these cases, these individuals saw videos of trespassers cliff diving into Ocala quarries on social media and wanted to try it themselves.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office will be proactively patrolling these areas and strictly enforcing state statutes for anyone involved in trespassing at these locations. Cliff diving and swimming in these areas is extremely dangerous and has taken the lives of two young adults with promising, bright futures this summer already. The men and women of the MCSO will do everything in their power to prevent further loss of life as a result of these preventable accidents.
Lauren Lettelier, Public Information Officer
E-Mail: llettelier@marionso.com
Cell: (352) 843-4205
Office: (352) 368-3594
