A 37 year old man tragically lost his life after falling from a hiking trail at a popular national park last week.
He was hiking in Utah’s Zion National Park when the tragic incident happened, as confirmed by authorities this week. The unnamed man was discovered on Sunday morning on the Canyon Overlook Trail, a mile-long route that runs along the park’s east side, according to the National Park Service.
A call about a “possible fall of a hiker in Zion National Park,” was received by the authorities at approximately 7:06am, as stated by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in a Facebook post. By 7:40am, Hurricane Valley Fire and Rescue were on the scene where they found the man deceased and “determined he was beyond help.”
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Shortly after, Washington County sheriff’s deputies arrived and “confirmed their findings,” the statement read, reports the Mirror US.
The Zion National Park Technical Search and Rescue Team assisted in recovery efforts, and the hiker’s remains were “transferred to the Washington County Medical Examiner for further examination,” said the National Park Service. Following the incident, the Canyon Overlook Trail was temporarily closed but has since reopened.
No additional details about the incident were immediately available. The authorities are now investigating what exactly happened to the man, whether he fell or died by other means. It wasn’t clear how far he may have fallen.
This isn’t the first tragic incident of someone falling to their death at Zion National Park. Just this past October, a 40 year old man reportedly plummeted around 200 feet to his death while hiking with three others, as reported by the National Park Service.
That entire expedition was fraught with problems – two of the other hikers had to be airlifted out, and the third was rescued after abseiling down a cliffside.