An elderly female tabby was found with her owners in Bryce Canyon National Park and appears to have survived the fall that killed them.
Matthew Nannen, 45, and Bailee Crane, 58, fell off of Inspiration Point in the park either Monday night or Tuesday morning, according to a news release from the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office. Their bodies were spotted Tuesday by fellow park visitors, about 380 feet below the popular lookout spot.
The sheriff’s office said the couple seemed to be living out of a U-Haul and came to Utah from Arizona, though their last known permanent residence was in Florida.
(Best Friends Animal Society) Mirage, a female tabby, was found with her owners after they died from a fall in Bryce Canyon National Park. She received care at the Best Friends Animal Society's sanctuary.
A spokesperson for Best Friends Animal Sanctuary said a sheriff’s search and rescue team found the cat in a black, soft-sided carrier, covered in dirt and mud, near Nannen and Crane — indicating that the cat likely fell with its owners.
The cat, estimated to be 12 years old, was “matted and a bit sore,” but “seemed to have weathered the fall fairly well,” the sanctuary said.
There was no identification with the cat, which Best Friends staff have named Mirage, the spokesperson said.
Judah Battista, the executive director of Best Friends, said he can’t think of any cases of animals who have faced trauma similar to what Mirage went through.
Cats are famous for their ability to survive long falls, Battista said, but it’s typically because they can position themselves to absorb the shock of the landing in their legs.
Because Mirage was constrained in a carrier when she was found, Battista said that makes her survival more remarkable.
“That is incredibly unusual,” he said.
The cat was first brought to the Pawz Dogs boarding facility in Panguich on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, the Garfield County Sheriff contacted Best Friends, and the veterinary staff traveled the 70 miles from Kanab and back to the sanctuary’s clinic.
Battista said she has two fractured canine teeth and a few fractured ribs, “but not anything that requires more than rest.”
He said Mirage is eating without assistance and her bloodwork is normal for having experienced trauma.
Video from Best Friends shows staff gently petting the cat and marveling that she could have fallen hundreds of feet and survived.
Mirage appears happy to lean into their affection, especially a stroke under her chin, as she scans those attending to her and the room with her green eyes.
“You are one lucky nugget,” one staffer said while administering a syringe.
Battista said Best Friends will work with authorities to see if a relative of Nannen or Crane would want to take the cat. If not, he said they will seek an adoption home.
“But we don’t want to get ahead of that opportunity for that family that’s obviously going to be in shock and grieving at the moment,” he said.
In the meantime, he added that Mirage needs “quiet time” as her ribs heal.
