A 14-year-old girl visiting a national park near the Grand Canyon with her family on Christmas Eve died after falling more than 700 feet from an overlook, according to local officials.
The unnamed teenager was visiting the Horseshoe Bend Overlook near Page, Ariz., with her family on Monday afternoon when she went missing.
The Arizona landmark is wrapped around the Colorado River and is a part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, located about 100 miles northeast of the Grand Canyon. No railings exist along the edge of the cliffs at the national park, which is open during the partial government shutdown but does not have staff.
“During the federal government shutdown, this website will not be updated and may not reflect current conditions. While Glen Canyon remains open to the public, there will be no National Park Service-provided services, such as restrooms or maintenance,” read a statement on its website.
The girl’s family — visiting from San Jose, Calif. — told the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office they last saw her around 2 p.m. local time. The family reported her missing around 4 p.m., according to a department news release.
The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team and the Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue out of Flagstaff, Ariz., were both deployed to the scene.
A rescue helicopter crew spotted her body 700 feet below the cliff, inside the canyon, but was unable to recover her body before sunset.
The sheriff’s department did not state in its news release if it believed the girl was dead at the time her body was spotted Monday evening.
The rescue resumed on Tuesday morning and her body was retrieved around 10 a.m.
The sheriff’s office said it believes the girl died from accidentally falling over the edge. The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy of her body to rule out foul play.
