People who knew Joey Kelly said he was one of the most caring people they ever met.
Kelly, 20, of Makanda, died after falling roughly 200 feet from a bluff at Little Grand Canyon Friday.
According to a press release from the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, Kelly's body was found early Saturday morning at the bottom of a scenic overlook cliff.
Friends and family remember the 2006 graduate of Carbondale Community High School as someone who was always concerned about everyone else.
Sarah Newman, Kelly's girlfriend of roughly a year, said she didn't have enough words to describe his many wonderful qualities.
"His ideas on life were amazing, everyone loved him. I think he never met a person he couldn't get along with or couldn't make smile," she said.
Scott Ellis, a guidance counselor at CCHS, said he remembered Kelly as someone who was always pleasant.
"He was just a good kid. That was just so upsetting and frustrating to hear about what happened," he said.
Ellis said only the current senior class at CCHS would have been in high school at the same time as Kelly. However, he said Kelly's two younger brothers are students there.
He said the high school has counselors and a social worker available for students who need support.
Greg Kline, the boys' soccer coach at CCHS, coached Kelly for about nine years and said his interaction with Kelly mostly revolved around soccer.
Kline said he remembers the way Kelly and his teammates bonded after playing soccer together for so long.
"Coming into high school, it's one of the reasons I stayed with the program was to have this group of boys I had from when they were basically starting out," he said.
Kline said he was always impressed about Kelly's ability to give his all, on and off the field.
Dan Lentz, district ranger at the Mississippi Bluff's Ranger Station for the Shawnee National Forrest, said he was not sure exactly where Kelly was found. But Lentz said his office works hard to prevent similarly dangerous situations.
"We do put up warning signs, but unfortunately we have members of our community who like to take those signs down," Lentz said.
He said Forest Service staff and some members of the community are constantly on the lookout for places where signs have been taken down, and try to replace the signs as quickly as possible.
Christian Holt can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 268 or cholt@siu.edu.
