LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah — Crew members with Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue conducted a body recovery Sunday afternoon after a hiker fell about 200 feet and died in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Sgt. Melody Cutler with the Unified Police Department told KSL a 26-year-old man went hiking on the Wasatch Ultimate Ridge Linkup, or WURL trail, early in the morning and had planned to meet up with friends when he fell.
He was found by other hikers “about 200 feet, down a 40 degree, very rocky slope,” according to Cutler.
The victim was identified Sunday evening as 26-year-old Andrew Acuff of Salt Lake City.
“This trail is becoming increasingly popular, and the reality is, it’s an incredibly dangerous trail, which requires a very skilled hiker to hike these,” said Cutler. “So, knowing in advance that this is not your average trail — and when we talk about highly-skilled, we’re not just talking good physical condition; we’re talking about having really technical hiking skills in order to complete this.”
Cutler said it was a very dangerous rescue for search and rescue teams, adding that they utilized their veteran members to get the man off the mountain.
Fortunately, all crew members were able to make it down safely.
A Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter also responded to the scene to help with the recovery.
Fallen hiker recovered off Dromedary Peak
A hiker also had to be recovered off Dromedary Peak Sunday after officials said they died as a result of a fall.
The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue was called out around 11:10 a.m. after a group noticed the hiker on the east face of the mountain.
Officials said the hiker was on “a steep scree field 200 feet below the summit.”
A Utah Department of Public Safety Helicopter was then called out to assist with the recovery.
Two SLCOSAR members were flown out to the victim, officials said, where they were able to package the hiker up so the helicopter could transport the individual to Alta.
Additional details were not immediately available.
The hiker’s identity has not been released.
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