Cornell issues statement on Fall Creek death

A 60-year-old Cornell University alumnus has been identified by police as the man who jumped Tuesday near Ithaca Falls.

Ithaca police identified the man as William Ruoff, of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

According to his profile on LinkedIn, Ruoff had been a principal toxicologist human health risk assessor with URS Corp., based in Conshohocken, since June 2014. Ruoff was also a Cornell alumnus with a bachelor of arts in animal physiology.

According to a statement from Cornell University on Friday, William Ruoff grew up in Ithaca. His father, Arthur Louis Ruoff, was a professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell.

While at Cornell, William Ruoff was a member of the Big Red varsity wrestling team. He graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1978.

Two of William Ruoff's four brothers are also Cornell graduates, according to the university, and his son, Eric, will graduate this year from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. William Ruoff's daughter, Anna-Marie, is a veterinary student in California, the university statement read.

"On behalf of the entire university community, I want to extend my deepest condolences to the Ruoff family and friends. I ask all of you to keep William and his family in your thoughts as we acknowledge this unfortunate loss to our extended Cornell family," read the statement signed by Charles D. Phlegar, vice president for alumni affairs and development, and Jim Mazza, associate vice president for alumni affairs.

Around 12:28 p.m. Tuesday, Ruoff jumped from a rocky ledge at the 800 block of Stewart Avenue into a levee of water in the Fall Creek natural area, police said. The body of water led to Ithaca Falls and filters ultimately into Cayuga Lake.

An Ithaca police officer and two members of Cornell's environmental health and safety team observed Ruoff jump, Officer Jamie Williamson said.

"They stopped to see if they could help the gentleman and check his welfare," Williamson said. "Shortly after that, the gentleman jumped over the first set of falls."

Originally, the man was identified as in his 50s, but the age was lowered to between the ages of 25 and 35 in another report. He was described as having dark hair and wearing dark clothing.

A nearly five-hour search ensued for the body, and involved responders from the Ithaca Police Department, Ithaca Fire Department and New York State Police.

Because of recent heavy rains, the creek and falls were bursting and murky. The fire department scanned the water in rafts while the Ithaca police searched down the creek on foot. A state police helicopter aided in the search, as did the SCUBA team.

Ruoff's body was recovered at 5:08 p.m. near the Ithaca Fire Department Training Facility. The body was sent to a regional hospital, where a forensic dental examination was performed to identify him.

Follow Kelsey O'Connor on Twitter @ijkoconnor.