Abandoned car leads rangers to body of 63-year-old in Utah national park, officials say

A 63-year-old man was found dead below the rim at Canyonlands National Park in Utah, rangers said.

The body was found below the rim of the Grand View Point on Thursday, May 12, the National Park Service said. The Grand View Point is a popular viewing area in Canyonlands that sits at 6,080 feet elevation in the Island in the Sky district.

The man, identified as Kevin Cox of Spanish Fork, Utah, was found around 2:47 p.m. after officials received a report of an abandoned car.

“A search and rescue team of National Park Service and San Juan County personnel was assembled to locate the owner of the vehicle,” rangers said in a May 16 news release.

Cox’s body was taken to the San Juan County Medical Examiner’s Office. Park rangers are investigating the incident.

The Island in the Sky district encompasses sandstone cliffs over 1,000 feet tall, according to the National Park Service.

Canyonlands National Park is near Moab, a popular Utah tourist destination that is home to two iconic national parks and surrounding Bureau of Land Management desert.

This story was originally published May 16, 2022 at 8:23 AM with the headline "Abandoned car leads rangers to body of 63-year-old in Utah national park, officials say."