Tourist, 34, Plummets 15 Floors After Trying Handstand on Hotel Balcony

An Ohio man died Friday after he fell from a 15th floor balcony at a Myrtle Beach hotel, according to the Horry County Coroner’s Office.

The incident happened at about 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Patricia Grand Hotel along North Ocean Boulevard, according to the coroner’s office.

Markell Hope, 34, of Akron, Ohio, died after he fell while attempting to do a handstand on the balcony, according to the coroner’s office. The death has been considered accidental.

The Myrtle Beach Police Department is investigating.

Celeste Powell said she was staying on the 19th floor of the hotel on Friday and that earlier in the afternoon, she could feel the building swaying. She said she’s never heard anything like the screaming she heard after the incident.

“I heard screaming out of a woman’s voice that I have never heard in my entire life and all these people that were on the 19th floor were all looking around and trying to figure out where it was coming from,” Powell said.

Powell said she went down to the lobby and saw Hope’s body.

The family told News13 by email that Hope had been in Myrtle Beach since Sept. 27 celebrating his birthday, which was Sept. 29.

The Hope family said they arrived on Saturday to speak to the hotel’s general manager and get Hope’s belongings. The family said the hotel didn’t cooperate and said the general manager was out of the office for the day.

“The family wants the reports and to see the original video footage,” the statement reads. “This is the only way to give the family some closure.”

The family also gave News13 a hand-written letter.

“Markell Hope was an amazing man, a True King,” the letter reads. “He was raised to be [an] honest respectable man by both parents. His mom and two sisters was his pride and joy. He was a very generous person who would help anyone in need. He was nonjudgemental and loved people from all different walks of life. He does not deserve to be treated like another case number.”