Global Courant 2023-05-15 20:39:00
A hiker in Utah has died and a second has been hospitalized after slipping while rock climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Friday, authorities said.
A 34-year-old woman, identified as Kaitlyn Brann, fell to her death shortly after 6 p.m. in the Storm Mountain area, the Unified Police Department said.
Brann was hiking with her 30-year-old boyfriend, whose identity was not immediately released, when the pair apparently slipped on the rocks, KTVX-TV reported.
Search and rescue teams searched for the pair with drones and located the hikers near two fallen boulders, the outlet said.
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Officials said the melting snow cover could cause rocks and debris to shift. (Utah Department of Transportation Cottonwood Canyons)
Brann was pronounced dead at the scene while the male hiker was airlifted to a hospital. Officials told the outlet he is expected to survive.
“I will never see her again and it breaks my heart,” Brann’s brother Dylan told the outlet. “I don’t know if my mother will ever recover from this.”
Officials urged hikers and climbers to take precautions before leaving. (James Roh for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
While no further details were available, officials said the two walkers were prepared for the situation.
“It’s important to note that the walkers were actually very well prepared for the situation, just given the elements, this was unfortunately the outcome,” Unified Police Detective Aymee Race told the outlet.
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Officials said the melting of the large snowpack that accumulated over the winter could cause rocks and debris to shift easily.
Officials urged climbers to take precautions before venturing out.
Earlier this month, a climber died and another was rescued in Texas’s Guadalupe Mountains National Park. A member of the park’s rescue team also sustained injuries and was transported to El Paso for treatment.
