ST. GEORGE — Zion National Park rangers recovered the body of a woman in Mystery Canyon on Sunday afternoon, according to a press release issued by park rangers.
Update June 8, 3:20 p.m. Police have identified the woman as 26-year-old Cassidy Brown of Springdale.
Park visitors reported that they found the woman, who rangers said had fallen 50 to 80 feet. A search and rescue operation began Saturday afternoon, prompting rangers to close Mystery and Orderville canyons to visitors Sunday, as well as other parts of the park.
A helicopter was dispatched to the scene, but rangers said they were unable to extricate the woman from the steep, narrow canyon walls. Rangers said that park medics were able to reach the patient shortly before she succumbed to her injuries.
According to the press release, a preliminary investigation suggests that the woman “sustained injures consistent with a high elevation fall.”
In a separate press release Tuesday, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office stated that although the incident is still under investigation, there is no evidence to suggest the cause of death was anything other than a “tragic recreational accident.”
The incident is being investigated by the National Park Service. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office is the lead agency.
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