Sahil Jilani vanished from Riverstone Campground on October 5 when his cell‑location ping stopped, prompting a two‑day search that stretched from the campground to the Abrams Falls trailhead.
The National Park Service found his car at the trailhead on October 7; a day later, dive teams pulled his body from the 25‑foot plunge pool, the family reports.
He was a 24‑year‑old Houston resident whose silence was unusual—his sister, Asma Jilani Bustamante, said the family felt something was wrong after their mother’s intuition and that they kept calling for help.
Authorities believe he drowned in the waterfall’s powerful recirculating currents, but the park has yet to issue an official cause of death, leaving the family in limbo.
Mother Khadija Jilani was hospitalized after learning of her son’s death, and the family urges hikers to heed the park’s warnings and to share itineraries in areas lacking cell service.
The National Park Service remains silent on the exact circumstances, and investigators are working to clarify the cause; the family hopes the incident will spur stricter enforcement of safety guidelines.