University of Oregon undergraduate Sidney “Tony” Anthony Nelson III drowned on May 31 at Wildwood Falls. According to the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, Nelson jumped from the waterfall and never resurfaced, and had been underwater for at least five minutes at the time of the dispatch.
“Our hearts go out to Mr. Nelson’s family and the community who is grieving over this tremendous loss,” Sgt. Carrie Carver said.
Originally from California, Nelson was a freshman computer science major at the UO and member of Phi Delta Theta.
On June 1, the University of Oregon Phi Delta Theta chapter released the following statement to The Emerald:
Phi Delta Theta at the University of Oregon is tremendously sad to have heard the news that our brother, Tony Nelson, passed away yesterday afternoon. We send our deepest condolences to his family and friends and ask that everyone support them during this time. Tony exemplified the qualities and values of our fraternity chapter and was a loyal friend to everyone. He could always make you laugh no matter what the situation and his loss is tragic. There will be a vigil later in the week and details of the event will be routed through Phi Delta Theta’s Social Media page.
According to the Fraternity and Sorority Life Facebook page, a vigil to celebrate Nelson’s life is planned for Thursday June 4 at 7 p.m. at the EMU Amphitheater.
Dean of Students Paul Shang said, “We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Tony Nelson over the weekend. His tragic and unexpected death will have a deep impact on our campus community. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.”
More to come.