EXCLUSIVE
A teenage girl who died alongside a male friend at a Queensland waterfall has been identified, as new details emerge about the tragedy.
Honor Ward, 17, and Beau Liddell, also 17, tragically lost their lives at Wappa Falls, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast at about 2.30pm on Sunday.
Honor fell from top of the waterfall into the raging torrent below and when she failed to resurface, Beau jumped into the water to help her.
A search and rescue operation found Honor’s body at about 3.30pm and divers recovered Beau’s body at about 7.30pm.
The deaths have rattled the tight-knit Noosa community, with a local revealing the pair were apart of a trio of close friends who were visiting the nature reserve together when tragedy struck.
‘They were best friends, the three of them,’ the family friend said.
‘I really feel for the third friend left behind to witness this firsthand. She needs all the support she can get from our community.
‘Rest in peace [Honor and Beau]. You will be incredibly missed.’
Honor’s family, who are originally from the UK, migrated to Noosa more than a decade ago.
Beau, one of four children from the Trewantin-based family, was affectionately known to friends as ‘Yokes’ – a moniker he used for his creative pursuits as a graffiti artist.
Tributes have poured in online for the two teenagers, with devastated loved ones saying the pair will ‘forever be missed’.
‘My beautiful baby cousin, I love you darling girl,’ Honor’s cousin Lorah said.
‘To the boy who tried to save her, you are a hero. This is unbelievably tragic.’
One of Honor’s friends said she was in shock and unable to describe how she was feeling.
‘I’ll forever miss you. A portion of my heart will belong to you forever,’ she said.
‘I wish I could tell you everything I am feeling or just say anything.
‘I wish anyone could say one more thing to you.’
Beau’s older sister Skye said he had ‘the most caring and kind heart’.
‘I miss you so badly baby brother,’ she said.
‘I am so proud of you. I love you to the moon and back, forever and always.’
One friend said they would be with Beau ‘always’.
‘I love you so much, miss you,’ they said.
‘Always the brave but sometimes too brave.’
In his last social media post on Saturday, Beau revealed he had been trying to turn his life around and had been sober for one week.
‘So proud!’ one friend commented, while another wrote: ‘Amazing!’
Locals have reported online that the waterfall would have been a ‘torrent’ over the weekend after recent rain in the area.
‘It should be closed after all the rain we have had so dangerous,’ one person said.
Wappa Falls remains closed amid a police investigation.
Reports on the deaths will be prepared for the coroner.