Solo climber killed after falling from cliff at Officers Wall in Summit County
Search and rescue teams recovered the body of a man who was killed in a climbing accident at Officers Wall over the weekend, according to Summit County officials.
The 29-year-old has not been publicly identified, but he was reported missing by a friend after not returning by a planned time. He was reported missing Saturday just after 10:30 p.m. after telling the friend he planned to be back by 6:30 p.m.
Search and rescue crews searched for about three hours that night but after 2 a.m., the Summit County Rescue Group's mission coordinator temporarily suspended the search until Sunday morning. They returned with more rescue personnel and family of the missing climber, who provided search crews with the last known cell phone location and the last video sent by the climber.
Around 7:50 a.m. Sunday, search and rescue personnel located the man's body. By noon, his body was evacuated.
"Summit County Rescue Group and Summit County Sheriff's Office extend their deepest condolences to all the loved ones of the deceased," SCRG said in a statement.
"We would also like to note that the deceased and his family did several things right that helped us find him and bring him back to his family in a reasonably short period of time," the statement continued. "By letting his friend know an expected return time, the subject ensured that a search began quickly and that searchers knew an approximate area to search in. And by sending a video to his family and having a shared phone location app, he allowed searchers to pinpoint his location quickly once the family was able to share this information with us. These are practices other backcountry recreationists can learn from, and although this incident ended tragically, we also know that a search which continues for a long time or is unresolved altogether is an even more difficult situation for friends and family."
