2 Killed After 380-Foot Fall at Scenic Overlook in Utah National Park

Two people died when they fell from Inspiration Point in Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.

A press release from the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office told that the event happened between late Monday night, April 28, and early Tuesday morning, April 29.

The National Park Service says on its website that Inspiration Point “offers a magnificent view of the largest group of rock spires, or hoodoos,” in the world, which can be found in the Bryce Amphitheatre.

Police say that Matthew Nannen, 45, and Bailee Crane, 58, both fell about 380 feet off the cliff. Their names were released after their families were notified.

Tourists saw the bodies on Tuesday and told the Park Rangers about them. After that, the Park Rangers called the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, which is in charge of that area.

The Salt Lake Tribune, San Francisco Gate, and KTVX, quoting the Best Friends Animal Society, also said that an older cat was found in a soft-sided carrier close to the scene of the crime.

In an earlier press release, the police said that Nannen and Crane climbed over the railing that was between the trail and the cliff.

In their most recent press release, however, the authorities said, “detectives are considering all possibilities, but preliminary investigations have not been able to definitively determine the cause of the fall.”

The New York Times also said earlier this week that there was snow on the ground at the top of the cliff, which could have made it dangerous to walk.

The last place that police know Nannen and Crane lived permanently was in Florida, they say. Multiple sources say that the two went to Utah after spending a lot of time in Arizona.

The news statement said, “It looks like they were living out of a U-Haul right before they died.”

Police say that the search and rescue mission was led by the Garfield County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team, with help from the Bryce Canyon Park Rangers and the Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau.