Grand Canyon (Photo : REUTERS/Jeff Topping)
Authorities have recovered the body of a 29-year-old Nevada man who died on Friday after falling about 400 feet off the South Rim of the Grand Canyon located in Arizona.
The USA Today has identified the victim as Juan Carreras-Soto, who is reported to have been visiting the Grand Canyon National Park on Thursday from Las Vegas. It is not clear what caused him to fall. But reports indicate that Carrears-Soto fell over the edge from a rim trail located east of Mather Point.
The incident was reported to the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center at around 4:20 p.m. According to AZ Central, officials immediately mounted a search for Carreras-Soto's body using a helicopter. Responding units included park rangers as well as the technical search and rescue team.
Although the rescuers successfully located the body about 400 feet below, they realized that Carreras-Soto was no longer alive. Safety concerns - particularly about the nature of the terrain and how the time of day may affect the rescue mission - forced officials to suspend the operation until the next day; Friday.
The fatal fall has since been ruled as an accident. However, both the Park Service and the Coconino County medical examiner are still conducting a joint investigation to determine what may have caused Carreras-Soto's fall.
It is unclear if authorities have contacted and informed Carreras-Soto's family of his death.
Reports indicate that every year about a dozen people meet their deaths in the Grand Canyon from falls, river accidents and natural causes. Authorities day up to 4.8 million visits were recorded to the park last year.
