Tourists spot bodies of people who fell 380 feet off cliff in Utah national park
Two people climbed over a guard rail at a Utah national park and plunged 380 feet to their deaths, officials said.
Tourists noticed the pair of bodies on the canyon floor of Bryce Canyon National Park on April 29 and notified park rangers, who contacted the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, the agency said in an emailed news release.
It happened sometime late on April 28 or early April 29, the agency said. Matthew Nannen, 45, and Bailee Crane, 58, climbed the railing between the trail and the cliff at Inspiration Point, a scenic overlook in the park.
Both are from Florida, but they had moved to Utah after spending some time in Arizona and were living in a U-Haul together before they died, officials said.
“Detectives are considering all possibilities, but preliminary investigations have not been able to definitively determine the cause of the fall,” the agency said.
There was also some snow in the area that made the trail slippery, KSTU reported.
Garfield County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, Bryce Canyon Park Rangers and the Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau recovered their bodies Tuesday, April 29.
Garfield County Sheriff Eric Houston reminded outdoor recreators “to use caution, don’t exceed skill levels, observe and obey signs and safety measures such as railing, and stay safe.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Garfield County Sheriff’s Detectives at 435-676-1126.
Bryce Canyon National Park is in southern Utah, about a 270-mile drive south from Salt Lake City.
