Two Dead, Another Injured After Fall at Utah's Arches National Park

On Friday, November 28, 2019, at approximately 7:30 a.m., three individuals fell into the lower bowl area below the Arches National Park’s iconic 52-foot Delicate Arch—one of the park’s more than 2,000 natural rock formations.

Grand County Sheriff’s Office confirmed in a statement that all three of the victims came from California and, according to the Associated Press, were also related.

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Chief Ranger Scott Brown told local news outlet KSL that rescue crews arrived on the scene to find the 65-year-old man and 60-year-old woman already dead from the fall, but that the other man, in his 30s, was found injured and airlifted to Moab Regional Hospital.

Brown explained to KSL that the individuals’ identities had not yet been released, and that the cause of their fall is as-yet-unknown, although he did note that the trail was known to have been wet and slick at the time of the fall.

The Grand County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating the incident and additional information is expected to follow on Monday, December 2, Brown said.

The Delicate Arch Trail was closed temporarily following the incident, but reopened later that evening. National Park Services officials warned in a Twitter announcement that winter conditions have caused slippery hiking conditions and encouraged visitors to proceed with caution.

According to The Washington Post, Delicate Arch, being the most widely-known of the park’s sites, receives over 1.5 million visitors each year and rangers are frequently called out to rescue hikers who underestimate the difficulty of the three-mile, 480-foot climb to the place where they can view the arch up close.