A teenager who plummeted to his death at Niagara Gorge was fleeing a police officer over a probation violation, according to an official at the group home where the teen lived.

Ryan Dube, 18, and a friend left the Nightlight Youth Services home late Tuesday afternoon on foot, said JoAnne Turner, executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of Niagara.

The teen was stopped by a police cruiser while walking down the street, she said.

"He was approached because he was on probation. It is our understanding he had some breaches and they were going to take him into the police station," she said.

Dube briefly spoke with the officer before he "bolted left," prompting the officer to run after him, Turner said.

The chase wove down to River Road, where a waist-high stone wall protects onlookers from the drop off to the gorge, according to the Special Investigations Unit in Ontario, which is probing the incident.

Turner said witnesses did not report a physical altercation between Dube and the unidentified police officer.