Man Dies from Fall

Last Saturday, February 16th, the Park Service removed the body of a man who apparently fell 300 feet into the Canyon. The man's vehicle was found unattended on Wednesday the 13th at the Buggeln Day Use Area about one mile west of the New Hance Trailhead along the Desert View Drive, South Rim. Search teams were deployed on Friday the 15th and the body of a man in his early 40's was found around 5:00PM. Conditions at the time were very icy and the park service found a chair, camera, and other personal items supposedly belonging to the victim at an undeveloped view point in the Buggeln vicinity.

Weather continues to be very active and wintry throughout Northern Arizona with Flagstaff reporting over a foot of new snow in the last couple of days. This is good news for the drought stricken Southwest but all visitors to the Grand Canyon should exercise extreme caution any time they approach the canyon rim. Crampons or cleats are still advised to be worn for anyone venturing into the Canyon!

This is the first reported death of 2008. Annually an average of 12 people die at the Grand Canyon from a variety of mishaps. Please be smart & be safe!