Hiker Falls 200 Feet To Death At Grand Canyon

A hiker fell approximately 200 feet to his death at Grand Canyon National Park over the weekend, the National Park Service announced in a news release.

The 44-year-old man, whose name was not released, is reported to have accidentally fallen from the rim west of the Bright Angel Point Trail at the time of his death on Friday (August 26).

Responding rangers found the man's body approximately 200 feet below the rim.

Grand Canyon park rangers encouraged all visitors not to "run, jump or perform physical stunts near the rim" as well as several other safety precautions to avoid fatal accidental falls.

"In areas where there is a railing or fence, do not climb over the barrier," the National Park Service said in its news release. "Keep an eye on all the people in your group, especially small children. Make sure that your travel companions have both feet firmly planted on pavement or developed trails."

The National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office are continuing their joint investigation into the incident.

No additional details were made available as of Saturday (August 27), according to the National Park Service.

Last September, the remains of a second person were found amid a search for another person reported mission at Grand Canyon National Park.

ABC News reported that the remains of Scott Walsh, who went missing after taking a shuttle bus to the park's South Rim in 2015, were discovered.

Park spokeswoman Joelle Baird confirmed the man found was wearing clothing that blended in with his surroundings and the corpse was positioned in a way that made it nearly undetectable.

“It happens every once in a while here during searches that we end up finding people we weren't expecting,” Baird said on September 16 via ABC News.

At the time, crews were already looking for another man, Gabor Berczi-Tomscanyi, a Hungarian native who lived in Hong Kong prior to being reported missing during a trip to the U.S. Southwest in late July.

Berczi-Tomscanyi was traveling in a vehicle during the trip, which was found in a Grand Canyon parking lot in mid-August 2021 and his body was located days later, about 430 feet below the Grand Canyon's rim at Yavapai Point.