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Austin man accused of pushing 78-year-old father off a cliff

Police said the man lured his father to the 40-foot cliff to look for a rattlesnake.

AUSTIN, Texas — An Austin man was arrested after police say he pushed his own father off a cliff in northwest Austin on Sunday.

According to the Austin Police Department, suspect Gerald McCants reportedly left the family home around 8:30 a.m. and returned a few minutes later. The father, 78, said McCants was excited to show him a rattlesnake he had found.

An affidavit states McCants then drove them about a half-mile away to the 5300 block of Highland Crest Drive. Once there, police said McCants lured him a few yards off of the road near a cliff saying the snake was below.

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As the father approached the edge of the cliff, police said McCants pushed him on his right side, sending him about 40 feet below into dense brush and undergrowth. As he was falling, police said the father reported that he heard his son laughing.

The man suffered pain, deep cuts to his forehead and the back of his head, and other minor cuts and abrasions across his body.

McCants, 49, was booked in the Travis County Jail and charged with injury to the elderly. His bond was set at $20,000.

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