Falls, heat and murder: What's really killing people at the Grand Canyon

The body of a 67-year-old California man was found 400 feet below the South Rim last week after he fell from the edge in the Grand Canyon Village.

A tour helicopter crashed in 2018, killing five near the West Rim of the Grand Canyon.

A Texas doctor died from heat exhaustion after she separated from her children in search of water while hiking the canyon in 2017.

A California prospector with a severe fear of snakes was hiking down Snake Gulch Trail in 1933 when he encountered a rattlesnake. The snake rattled at the man and made a partial strike, causing the prospector to die of heart failure.

These are just a few of the nearly 800 people — not counting those who died by suicide — who have died in the Grand Canyon.

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About 12 people die each year within Grand Canyon National Park, according to park spokeswoman Vanessa Ceja. The deaths can be attributed to everything from accidental falls to heat-related deaths to drownings during rafting trips on the Colorado River.

The National Park Service doesn't offer an aggregated count of deaths within the park. But Michael P. Ghiglieri, an Arizona river guide and co-author of “Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon,” has spent nearly two decades tracking the deaths that occurred inside the Canyon — both inside and outside the boundaries of the national park.

"Virtually every single one of these fatal events are preventable and didn't have to happen," Ghiglieri said.

What's the most common cause of death?

Over-flights have been the most common cause of death, according to Ghiglieri.

The canyon frequently saw crashes of both private and commercial planes and helicopters flying over the canyon to give passengers a view. In total, 275 people died in aerial crashes in the canyon.

In 1956, 128 people died when two planes collided midair over the park — making it the deadliest air crash on U.S. soil at the time.

The number of over-flight deaths has dropped dramatically in recent years. The 2018 crash of a tour plane on the West Rim of the Grand Canyon marked the first air fatality in more than a decade. Three British tourists and their pilot died in the crash. Two other passengers died in the hospital days later.

Other common causes of deaths

Falls

Falls are the second most common cause of death in the canyon. Ghiglieri recorded 125 fatal falls — including 64 from the rim and 61 within the canyon.

The first deadly fall from the rim was recorded in 1925 when Lewis Thompson of Colorado tripped while taking a photo. He plunged 700 feet over the edge.

At least two people have fallen to their deaths in 2019. A 67-year-old California man died April 3 after falling from the edge of the South Rim in Grand Canyon Village, near the Yavapai Geology Museum. Park officials said his body was found 400 feet below the rim.

A 50-year-old tourist from Hong Kong fell to his death barely a week earlier, on March 28. The man was trying to take a photo at Grand Canyon West's Eagle Point — close to the Skywalk located on the Hualapai Reservation outside the park — when he stumbled and fell.

Environmental

Unsurprisingly, Ghiglieri said the heat and cold are responsible for a significant number of deaths. The dramatic triple-digit temperatures can punish unprepared hikers with heat stroke or cardiac failure.

Margaret Bradley, a lauded marathoner, died of dehydration in 2004 after she attempted to run a 27-mile route in nearly 120-degree summer temperatures with a partner. Officials said the pair were underprepared and didn't bring enough water.

Midway through their run, Bradley went on to find help after her partner was unable to go on. Bradley took a wrong turn down a wash in her search. Her partner escaped the canyon after the sun went down. He made it back to Flagstaff, assuming Bradley had found her own way out of the canyon.

Bradley's body was found 500 feet above the Colorado River two days later.

"These types of events are usually a chain of poor decisions," Ghiglieri said. "Bradley's death was a cascade of mistake after mistake after mistake."

Drowning

At least 100 people have drowned in the Colorado River that snakes through the Grand Canyon. Some drowned after they fell from a raft; others met their death after they jumped into the water to save another or dove into the water in an attempt to cool off.

In 2009, 16-year-old Saif Savaya attempted to cross off one of the items on his bucket list by swimming across the Colorado River near Phantom Ranch during a trip with his Tempe church group. He recruited two other boys to attempt the feat with him. The three swimmers — who weren't wearing life jackets — were swept into an eddy and drowned.

What about murders?

Homicides are relatively uncommon within the Grand Canyon — especially considering more than 5 million people visit the national park annually. More than 25 people have been killed in the canyon and on the rims since the 1800s.

"The chance of being murdered in the Grand Canyon is very unlikely," Ghiglieri said. "Not many people say it, but everyone realizes it's an opportunity for the perfect crime."

Robert Spangler tried to perform that "perfect crime" in 1993 when he pushed his third wife, Donna Spangler, off a steep trail in Grand Canyon National Park. He later admitted to murdering his wife because it was easier than a divorce. He also admitted to killing another former wife and two children. Spangler was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

Is the Grand Canyon the deadliest park?

No, but it's close. Outside magazine ranked Grand Canyon National Park as the third deadliest park behind Lake Mead National Recreation Area and Yosemite National Park.

At least 254 people died at Lake Mead from 2006 to 2016. The most common cause of death was drowning. Others succumbed to the harsh temperatures. Lake Mead also had the highest number of murders, with six during that time period.

Yosemite National Park had the second highest number of deaths, with 150 fatalities during the 10-year period. Most of the victims died from falls or from suffering a heart attack while hiking or climbing.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Falls, heat and murder: What's really killing people at the Grand Canyon