Man falls to his death from Skywalk lookout at Grand Canyon National Park considered America’s most dangerous, where most people are killed or go missing
- Earlier this week, a man fell to his death from 4,000 feet on the Grand Canyon Skywalk
- Up to a dozen people die at the Grand Canyon each year
- It’s America’s deadliest national park, according to government records
Earlier this week, a man fell to his death on the Grand Canyon Skywalk as the landmark was recently the deadliest of America’s 63 national parks.
The unidentified 33-year-old man fell over the edge of the Sky Walk on the morning of June 5, falling 4,000 feet.
Search and rescue teams from the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office used ropes and a helicopter to attempt to assist the fallen man.
Emergency services pronounced the man dead at the scene and handed him over to the Hualapai Nation, which operates the attraction.
It’s not clear if the victim fell from the canyon rim or from the Skywalk structure itself, although the county’s search and rescue team posted a link to a suicide prevention hotline on Facebook.
Earlier this week, a man fell to his death on the Grand Canyon Skywalk as the landmark was recently the deadliest of America’s 63 national parks
The investigation into his death is ongoing, but the Grand Canyon has consistently proven to be a dangerous place for those taking risks from high above.
It is best known for the Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped glass bridge that juts 70 feet out of the canyon walls and offers visitors a view of the Colorado River 4,000 feet below.
The canyon and river are deeply rooted in the history of the Hualapai tribe. The lower 108 miles of the canyon and portions of the Colorado River are within the Hualapai Reservation.
A Freedom of Information Act request found that at least six people have died and 56 others have gone missing in Grand Canyon National Park over the past five years.
The numbers cover the period from 2018 to February 2023, and they outperformed the hundreds of US national parks in those categories, despite not even making the top ten in terms of visitor numbers — 4.7 million in 2022.
By comparison, four people each reportedly died in Yosemite, Golden Gate Park, and Death Valley National Parks during that five-year period.
Washington’s Olympic National Park had the second-highest number of missing persons reports.
A Stanford University professor who faces charges for allegedly slamming the door on his girlfriend was found hiking in the park last week after being declared missing.
Another 1,100 people were reported missing over that five-year period, but most of them were found.
The investigation into his death is ongoing, but the Grand Canyon has consistently proven to be a dangerous place for those taking risks from high above
It is best known for the Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped glass bridge that juts 70 feet out of the canyon walls and offers visitors a view of the Colorado River 4,000 feet below
A Freedom of Information Act request found that at least six people have died and 56 others have gone missing in Grand Canyon National Park over the past five years
But that number may have been underestimated, according to a retired emergency services chief at Grand Canyon.
“It can be anything to do with heatstroke, lightning, drowning on the river, plane crashes, suicides, accidental falls — all sorts of things,” said Ken Phillips.
He added that along with all of the Grand Canyon’s natural hazards, its sheer size can make rescue operations difficult to conduct.
“You have to realize how difficult it can be to find a single human being in such a large area,” he said. “When you’re looking for a person, you’re actually looking for a needle in a haystack”
According to the Arizona Daily Sun, the park was the top suicide bomber among the nation’s national parks in 2008.
Many suicides have resulted from people jumping off ledges, but there have also been some that caused cars to drive away.