2 men fall to their deaths, woman injured in separate Utah hiking accidents
Two men fell to their deaths and a woman sustained a serious head injury during three hiking accidents over the holiday weekend in the mountains of Utah.
The first fatality was a 45-year-old man who had been reported missing Saturday night after he failed to meet a friend at the mouth of American Fork Canyon north of Provo, CBS affiliate KUTV-TV reported. The man's body was found Sunday morning by a crew in a state Department of Public Safety helicopter.
He had fallen a long distance, said Utah County Sheriff's office spokesperson Sgt. Spencer Cannon. Officials identified the victim as Thomas James Rawe.
"While we don't know specifically happened to cause the fall, it is likely Mr. Rawe lost his footing or stumbled, then fell and tumbled several hundred feet down the steep slope," Cannon said in a statement.
The sheriff's office released photos and video from the scene on Facebook.
On Monday, a 22-year-old man died while hiking with some friends in Neffs Canyon south of Salt Lake City. The man fell approximately 30 feet and sustained serious head injuries, the Salt Lake Unified Police District said. The victim died as a medical helicopter was en route to the scene.
Also Monday, Utah County officials say they received a call about an 18-year-old woman who had fallen, hit her head and temporarily lost consciousness hiking Mount Timpanogos in the American Fork Canyon. The woman was airlifted out of the canyon to a hospital.
