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HILTON HEAD, S.C. — The 20-year-old Ohio University student-athlete who fell to her death Wednesday had climbed from the balcony of one fifth-floor hotel room to another more than once before falling, said Capt. Toby McSwain of the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.

McSwain said witnesses reported that Sarah Merritt, a Tippecanoe High School grad, was sharing a room with several other girls at the Comfort Inn & Suites near the south end of Hilton Head island. Several boys were staying in the room next door.

The rooms had small balconies that extended three or four feet from the side of the building, McSwain said. The balconies of adjacent rooms were only a short distance apart, but to get from one to the other requires reaching around a concrete pillar that blocks the view from one balcony into the next room.

McSwain said people who were with Merritt said she had climbed from one balcony to the other more than once.

"It's somewhat of an acrobatic feat, but she accomplished it several times during the day," McSwain said. "One of the witnesses said she told Miss Merritt that she ought to stop doing it because she could fall, and that's when she slipped."

McSwain said Merritt fell about 60 feet to a paved walkway shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday. Emergency medical crews arrived a short time later but were unable to revive her.

McSwain said investigators found alcohol in the area where the students were staying, but it has not been determined yet if Merritt had been drinking.

McSwain said he was not sure how many students were staying in the two adjacent rooms, but he said, "It was quite a few."

Hilton Head is an island about 12 miles long and five miles wide, according to Charlie Clark, vice president of the Hilton Head-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce. It receives about 2.5 million tourist visitors a year, and Ohio is the No. 1 state supplying tourists to the area, Clark said.

Clark said March and April, traditional spring break season, is the beginning of Hilton Head's busy season, but she said the island is more of a family destination than a spring break hot spot for students.

McSwain said the island's resorts are more expensive than some other sites nearby, and college students typically look for inexpensive accommodations. The island has its share of problems with young spring break revelers.

The 19-year veteran said he remembers a case of alcohol poisoning in Hilton Head, but Merritt's accident is the first of its kind he's aware of on the island. "Mostly it's a lot of underage drinking and things like that we're dealing with," he said.

McSwain said it's been illegal to take alcohol onto Hilton Head's beaches since the early 1980s, and the city has had fewer spring break problems since that time.

Merritt was a two-time Division II All-Ohio soccer player at Tipp in 2002 and 2003. She was named a National Soccer Coaches Association All-American in 2003. She was attending Ohio University in Athens on a soccer scholarship.

Doug Rabe was an assistant Tippecanoe soccer coach during Merritt's time there.

"(She was) a great kid," Rabe said.

Rabe said Merritt impressed her high school coaches by improving every season.

The first Tipp girl to be named All-American in any sport, Merritt graduated with Tipp career records for goals in one season (28 as a junior and senior) and career (88).

Elected president of her senior class and also senior homecoming queen, Merritt led Tipp to three district soccer tournament appearances and, in 2001, the state semifinals.

"She was a leader, a team captain as a senior," Rabe said.

Merritt would have been a senior at OU this fall.

"I know she was having a good time on the soccer team," Rabe said. "She went there to help build the program. They had a good one, but she was trying to make it better. That was her goal."

Last season, Merritt, a forward, played in all 19 of OU's matches, starting two. As a sophomore, she appeared in 16 matches before missing the season finale with a broken foot.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2395 or jcummings@DaytonDailyNews.com.