A couple from Florida has died after falling several hundred feet in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah.
Their bodies were found below Inspiration Point, a popular viewpoint overlooking the hoodoo-filled Bryce Amphitheater, and reported to law enforcement around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29.
The man and woman allegedly climbed over a railing near the viewpoint, which is intended to keep visitors from getting to close to the precipitous cliff ledge, and fell about 380 feet to their death.
Garfield County sheriff’s spokesperson Wade Matthews told reporters that investigators aren’t exactly sure when the couple died. However, they do believe that the fatal fall occurred either on Monday night or on Tuesday morning.
Matthews also added that conditions in the area around Inspiration Point were wet and slippery from snow.
“There’s some slide marks,” Garfield County Sheriff Eric Houston told St. George News. “The Utah DPS helicopter did a phenomenal job getting down and recovering the bodies. They were in a really hard to get location off Inspiration Point. The woman’s body was recovered first, then the man’s.” He also said they “haven’t released anything yet. We are having a hard time locating next of kin.”
The couple’s last known place of residence was in Florida, but according to Matthews, they appeared to be living out of a U-Haul that was parked near Inspiration Point.
Learn more about the leading causes of deaths in the national parks in this article.
