Girl, 4, Killed in 100-Foot Fall From Cliff on Oceanfront

A 4-year-old girl slipped and fell about 100 feet to her death Wednesday afternoon while walking with her father atop an oceanfront cliff in Rancho Palos Verdes.

The accident, which occurred about 2 p.m. at Inspiration Point, was reported in a 911 call placed about an hour later, authorities said. The identities of the father and daughter were not made public.

“According to the father, they were just walking along a fire road beside the cliff and she lost her footing,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Mike Grimaldi.

The oceanfront cliff is off Palos Verdes Drive South near Cherry Hill Lane.

The girl was dead when paramedics reached her. Her body was turned over to the coroner’s office Wednesday night. An autopsy is pending.

A sheriff’s homicide detective was assigned to the case. Any time someone who is not under a doctor’s care dies, homicide detectives are assigned to investigate.

Residents said the scenic coastal bluffs are known for various dangers.

“There have been warning signs in the past, and there was a chain-link fence about two years ago,” said Lenee Bilski, 55, who has lived on Palos Verdes Drive South for about 30 years.

“There have also been a lot of rescues down there over the years,” she said. “Sometimes it’s a boat in distress, or a fisherman washed off the rocks and out to sea. Sometimes it’s somebody who slipped off the cliff.”

In 1991, a 17-year-old East Los Angeles woman was with her boyfriend and two other couples near the Point Vicente Interpretive Center just off Palos Verdes Drive when she slipped and fell 250 feet to her death.

That incident occurred about a mile west of Wednesday’s accident.

“Trouble is, it’s unsupervised along the cliffs,” said Joseph McLarey, 79, a resident of 38 years. “Those cliffs are straight down. There ought to be someone keeping an eye on things.”