70-Year-Old Woman Falls to Her Death at Grand Canyon National Park

Wire Service
By Wire Service
April 24, 2019US News
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70-Year-Old Woman Falls to Her Death at Grand Canyon National Park
Braving wind and cold to experience sunrise at Grand Canyon on New Year's Day, on Jan. 1, 2016. (M. Quinn/National Park Service, CC BY 2.0)

A 70-year-old woman fell to her death in the Grand Canyon National Park, the park said in a news release.

Park rangers responded to a call of a person needing help at rocky point west of Pipe Creek Vista on Tuesday, April 23, the park said. But before the rescue operation began, the woman fell.

Her body was later recovered by the park’s helicopter and rescue team of about 15 people, the release said.

The woman’s death follows a string of others since late March.

Earlier this month, a 67-year-old man died after falling over the edge of the Grand Canyon, near the Yavapai Geology Museum. His body was recovered 400 feet below the rim.

On March 28, a man from Hong Kong was taking pictures at an overlook when he slipped and fell, according to the Grand Canyon West.

He was part of a tour group visiting the Eagle Point observation area at Grand Canyon West and was apparently taking a selfie, according to David Leibowitz, a spokesman for Eagle Point.

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Posted by Grand Canyon Skywalk on Wednesday, August 22, 2018

The first death was not the result of a fall, according to a park spokeswoman. In that case, the victim was a foreign national whose body was found on March 26 in a forested area south of the South Rim Village area of the park.

NTD Photo
Map shows Grand Canyon Village. (Screenshot/Google Maps)

Falls at Grand Canyon

Authors Tom Myers and Michael Ghiglieri said that as of 2012, about 685 people had died from falling into the Grand Canyon.

Ghiglieri noted that the 1980s actually saw more deaths than recent years but there has been a shift in what kills people.

“Over the last decade, proportionally more people have been dying from environmental problems—mainly heat—while hiking,” he told the Arizona Daily Sun.

“This is despite everything the park has tried to do via educational signs and via preventative search and rescue work, both of which are pretty good. There were also proportionally more people dying from falls within the canyon (as opposed to from the rims).”

Of the people that fall over the edge, most are young males, he said.

Grand-Canyon-View-Courtesy-of-Grand-Canyon
Grand Canyon View (Courtesy of Grand Canyon)
Grand-Canion
Taking in the wide expanse of the Grand Canyon. (EpochTimes)

About 12 deaths happen each year at the Grand Canyon, park spokeswoman Kirby-Lynn Shedlowski reported on the Grand Canyon blog earlier this year. On average, two or three of the deaths are from falls over the rim.

Other causes of death include natural causes, medical problems, suicides, heat, drowning, and traffic crashes.

The blog recommends people stick to paved paths on the rim, watch children closely both at the rim and on trails, and be aware of the possibility of falling at all times.

The official Grand Canyon website states on viewing the canyon safely: “Stay at least six feet from the edge. Hold on to Children. Do not lean over or go past walkways and railings. Always be aware of your surroundings. Do not back up without first looking where you are going.”

NTD News reporter Zachary Stieber and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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