CHARLOTTE - Two climbers found the body of a Charlotte man at the base of a 70-foot cliff in Crowders Mountain State Park Tuesday morning, authorities said.

Joseph Wagstaff, 52, apparently fell to his death, according to Gastonia police.

Gastonia police Sgt. Dean Conner said there was no evidence of foul play, and that Wagstaff was wearing street clothes and had no climbing gear.

Park Superintendent Larry Hyde said Wagstaff was found about 11 a.m. on the eastern face of the mountain at the Linwood Road park entrance. Hyde said he apparently died sometime after the park opened at 8 a.m. because his car, which was found in the Linwood access lot, wasn't there last night when Hyde closed the park. Hyde said he hadn't talked to anyone who had seen Wagstaff on the trail.

Wagstaff was a licensed pediatrician. Family members could not be reached Tuesday night, but Dr. Frank Grass, a co-worker, said Wagstaff was an internationally known genetics expert who focused on Angelman syndrome, a genetic developmental disorder.

"He was one of the top researchers in the field," Grass said. "He was great to work with. He was very knowledgeable. ... The families that he worked for were devoted to him, and he was devoted to them."

Hyde said this is the first fatality in the past two years he's been at the park. Six people died on the cliffs between 1986 and 1997.

Staff writer Deborah Hirsch contributed.

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