Teen falls 60 feet from rope swing and dies on Camano Island

Camano Island — A teenager died at a beer party when he lost his grip on a rope swing and fell about 60 feet from a bluff overlooking the beach near the northwest end of Camano Island, Island County officials said.

Kevin Houston, 15, a sophomore at Stanwood-Camano High School who lived on the island, died at the scene of injuries from the fall, Coroner Robert Bishop said Monday.

Witnesses said Houston fell from the rope swing about 9:45 p.m. Friday.

Bishop said the swing was tied to a madrona tree about 125 feet up the bluff and estimated the fall at 60 feet, based on how far below the tree the rope was hanging.

The tide was out at the time, but the swing did not appear to be used to launch people into the water, even at high tide, the coroner added.

His father, Scott Houston, said the teenager had mentioned the rope swing but not "the fact that this rope swing was 100 feet in the air."

Hundreds of friends attended at a memorial ceremony set up a cross and took down the rope swing over the weekend, the father said.