This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2009, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A 49-year-old hiker from Missouri fell off the edge of a cliff Saturday and died after plunging 70 feet into the Escalante River near Lake Powell.
National Park Service rangers responded by boat two miles upstream from the mouth of Explorer Canyon after a party reported that Robert Hunt had fallen, authorities said. Hunt was trying to cross a talus slope, an area of loose rock on steep terrain, at the edge of a cliff when he fell. He landed in shallow water and mud.
Hunt died of traumatic head injuries he suffered in the fall, authorities said. Hunt was hiking with friends when he fell.
