facebook-pixel

Utah hiker dies when she falls 75-100 feet

According to police, the fall was accidental.

(Sevier County Sheriff's Office) A 26-year-old died after she fell 75-100 feet in this area.

A 26-year-old Utah woman died after she fell 75-100 feet while hiking in Sevier County, according to police.

Candice Thompson, of Richfield, was hiking with her husband near an area known as the Bulls Head when she fell, according to the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office. Her husband called 911 “while running to try to get her,” police said.

Richfield City police officers and an off-duty sheriff’s deputy performed life-saving measures until EMTs and members of the search-and-rescue team arrived. According to a news release from the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office, rescuers “were not able to get Candice’s vitals stable enough” to transport her in a medical helicopter that arrived at the site of her fall, so she was taken by ambulance to the Sevier Valley Hospital. Thompson died a short time later.

Police determined the fall was an accident. “Candice was at an edge of an overhang that was eroded away underneath,” which broke away, according the sheriff’s office.

According to witnesses, her husband was 20 feet uphill, and he “ran immediately to the edge looking for her” and “dialed 911 as he was scrambling down the ridge.”

Support free news for Utah

sltrib.com is now free to access — no subscription required. We made this decision because we believe access to trustworthy, independent news shouldn’t depend on what you can afford — especially as misinformation and AI-generated content continue to rise.

Free to read doesn’t mean free to produce. Our reporters show up every day to ask hard questions and hold powerful institutions to account. That work takes resources. As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on support from people who believe it matters. Make a donation today to fund local news that serves Utah communities.

You can help us bring more local news to more communities today.