Experienced Female Guide Fatally Falls over 50 Feet in a Canyon at Zion National Park

The Zion National Park has reported that an outfitter's body was discovered in a Canyon on Monday evening. The tragic incident is still under investigation.

An experienced female guide fatally fell to her death over 50 feet in a Canyon at Zion National Park. The organization released a statement on Twitter about the incident.

"BREAKING: Rangers recovered the body of a 26-year-old female in Mystery Canyon this evening, Sunday, June 6," the park officials wrote on June 7.

The incident is being investigated by the National Park Service and Washington County Sheriff's Office. The press release states that the authorities initiated a search and rescue on Saturday afternoon based upon a report by park visitors.

The visitors shared they found a lone female cayoneer that had fallen 50 to 80 feet. A preliminary investigation found that the now deceased was canyoneering in Mystery Canyon and sustained injuries consistent with a high elevation fall.

A rescue helicopter was dispatched to the scene but could not extricate the woman due to the steep, narrow canyon walls. Park Medics were able to reach the female shortly before she died as a result of her injuries.

The woman’s name was not immediately released. Canyoneering is a sport or practice of following a body of water through a canyon by walking, rafting, swimming, climbing, and rappelling.

The Zion Park is about 20 miles north of the Utah-Arizona border and is known for its narrow canyons and massive sandstone cliffs.

A Facebook post identified the female as Cassy Brown, who was a guide at Zion Adventure Company. A former employee of the company, Tom Jones, shared on the post that Brown was doing a solo descent of an “easy” canyon when her rope became stuck on a rappel.

Jones added Brown ascended the rope, but that it released, and she fell. “Cassy was one of the most capable cayoneers I know,” Jones said of Brown.

He explained that a solo activity always carries a greater risk, but for a very competent cayoneer, Mystery Canyon is a mild solo adding having your rope stuck is common.

Last month, May 31, a California hiker died after falling around 500 feet from a summit ridge in State Sequoia National Park. San Jose, 56, was hiking Mount Russell with two others when he lost his balance and fell.

One of the individuals with him, a 45-year-old woman, also fell after trying to save him. Instead, she was able to "self-arrest approximately 30 feet down," park officials said at the time. Jose died instantly after his fall.