Ottawa County woman dies after falling off a cliff

Monday, March 14th 2005, 3:41 pm

By: News On 6

WYANDOTTE, Okla. (AP) -- A 71-year-old Ottawa County woman diagnosed with dementia died after falling off a 40-foot cliff near the Neosho River in far northeast Oklahoma, authorities said.

Lavita Roberts was discovered by a fisherman around 11 AM Sunday on a rock shelf near the river bank, said Lt. Bob Ernst of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department. She was flown by helicopter to St. Johns Hospital in Joplin, Mo., where she died, Ernst said.

The woman apparently wandered three miles from her residence sometime before 7 AM on Sunday, officials said.