ELYRIA — The body of 13-year-old Logan Spradlin was recovered Sunday in a 30-foot-deep pool under the East Falls of the Black River, where Logan fell after climbing over a guardrail of an observation deck, according to the Elyria Fire Department.

Logan’s body was recovered by a diver 30 to 50 feet from the area near an old mill where he fell over the falls, said Elyria Fire Chief Richard Benton.

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Logan, who lived just around the corner from the Riverwalk on Furnace Street, only had permission to go to a friend’s house and was not supposed to be at the park, according to his stepmother, Sheri Spradlin.

He was remembered Sunday as a happy-go-lucky teen who brought happiness to everyone around him.

“Do you know a kid who smiles and everyone’s heart melts? That was Logan,” Spradlin said.

Students at Northwood Middle School and Elyria High School will be wearing green — Logan’s favorite color — according to text messages circulated by students. Other text messages said, “We all miss and love Logan.”

Benton said the drowning — the first in three years at Cascade Park — is a reminder of how dangerous it is to play by the river.

Logan was with 10-year-old Brennon Miller when Logan reportedly climbed over the guard railing of an observation deck, jumped onto the steps of an old mill, slipped and fell onto rocks before going over the waterfall, the chief said.

Brennon ran to the Elyria police station for help at 2:08 p.m. and it only took about two minutes for rescuers to get to the scene because crews were assembled for a fire station open house, Benton said.

Rescuers started at the point where Logan fell into the river and fanned back and forth, while searching for the boy in the deep, rock-lined area under the falls, he said.

Logan’s friend “gave us a good starting point” but by 7 p.m. Saturday the rescue/recovery effort was called off because of darkness, Benton said.

“It’s a tragic accident and the guys hated to give up Saturday night,” he said.

Benton said he hoped parents — and youngsters — could learn from what was the first drowning in the Black River in three years.

“He was definitely in a place where he shouldn’t have been — the old foundation of the mill,” Benton said.

Divers assembled again Sunday morning and were in the water by 8:20 a.m., Benton said, adding that each diver could only spend 20 to 30 minutes under the surface because of the cold water temperature. Divers from around the county assisted both days and a Lorain diver eventually found the boy, he said.

Bubbles from the turbulent falls likely made it difficult to find the body with a side-scanning sonar device recently purchased by the county fire chiefs, Benton said.

The water is especially deep under the falls because “over the years the waterfall keeps eroding the earth, and it’s down to the rock,” he said.

The cause of death was ruled accidental drowning, said Lorain County Coroner Paul Matus. The teen also had a laceration on his scalp, which could have occurred during the fall or after he was in the river, which is lined with rocks, the coroner said.

Logan knew how to swim, but he could have been injured in the fall and weighted down by tennis shoes, clothing and a jacket, Matus said.

“Generally there are pretty strong currents around the waterfalls,” he said.

Logan’s aunt, Carrie Charlton, said she was glad that Brennon ran for help and did not try to climb down the perilous steps to go after Logan after he fell.

“If he had tried to save Logan, we would have had two victims,” Charlton said.

“I don’t blame anyone; this was a tragic accident,” she said. “Boys like to explore, and how many of us have been down in the same area? We played there and never thought anything would happen.

“Kids are kids and are incapable of making decisions grown-ups do. Part of the wonderment of being a child is not thinking like an adult.”

Logan’s birth mother, Rose Mesecher, of College Station, Texas, said she does not blame anyone in the accident.

“When I got there I knew exactly where it was because I recall playing there,” Mesecher said.

She urged parents to “cherish their children always because you can’t plan for things like this.”

Sheri Spradlin, Logan’s stepmother, said he was an avid eighth-grade wrestler, football player and loved to skateboard and play “World of Warcraft,” an online role-playing game.

Besides his stepmother and father, Jason Spradlin, Logan’s family includes his brother Mykka, 11, sisters Amanda, 16, and Stephanie, 14, and Sheri Spradlin’s son Connor, 15.

Contact Cindy Leise at 329-7245 or cleise@chroniclet.com.