Man falls to death from Grand Canyon’s Skywalk – namesake national park is the most dangerous in the US

A man fell to his death on the Grand Canyon Skywalk earlier this week as Grand Canyon National Park was recently voted the deadliest of America’s 63 national parks.

The unidentified man, 33, went over the edge of the Sky Walk on the morning of June 5 and fell 4,000 feet to his death.

Mohave County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue teams used ropes and a helicopter to help the fallen man.

Crews pronounced the man dead at the scene and transferred him to the Hualapai Nation, which operates the attraction.

It’s not clear if the victim fell from the rim of the canyon or from the Skywalk structure itself, though the county’s search and rescue team posted a link to a suicide prevention hotline at Facebook.

The investigation into his death is ongoing, but the Grand Canyon has consistently proven to be a dangerous place for those who take risks from great heights.

It is best known for the Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped glass bridge that rises 20 feet above the canyon walls and gives visitors views of the Colorado River 4,000 feet below.

The Canyon and the river have deep marks in the history of the Hualapai tribe. The lower 108 miles of the Canyon and parts of the Colorado River are on the Hualapai Reservation.

Meanwhile, Grand Canyon National Park – which is not affiliated with the Skywalk – was voted the deadliest national park in the United States.

a Request Public Access Act found that at least six people have been killed and 56 more have been missing in Grand Canyon National Park in the past five years.

The numbers were from 2018 to February 2023, and they topped hundreds of U.S. national parks in those categories, despite not even making the top ten — 4.7 million by 2022 — in terms of visitors.

By comparison, during that five-year period, four people each reportedly died in Yosemite, Golden Gate Park, and Death Valley national parks.

Olympic National Park in Washington saw the second highest number of reported missing persons.

A Stanford University professor who was set to face charges for allegedly slamming his girlfriend’s door was found days after he was reported missing while on a hike in the park last week.

The investigation into his death is ongoing, but the Grand Canyon has consistently proved a dangerous place for those who take risks from great heights

It is best known for the Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped glass bridge that rises 20 meters above the walls of the canyon, giving visitors views of the Colorado River 1,200 meters below

A Freedom of Information Act request has found that at least six people have died and 56 are still missing in Grand Canyon National Park in the past five years

In that five-year period, another 1,100 people were reported missing, though most of them were found.

According to a retired chief of emergency services at the Grand Canyon, that number may have been undercounted.

“Those could be anything related to heat stroke, lightning strikes, river drownings, plane crashes, suicides, accidental falls — all sorts of things,” said Ken Phillips.

He added that in addition to all the natural hazards of the Grand Canyon, its sheer size can make it difficult to conduct rescue missions.

“You have to realize how difficult it can be to find one human being in such a large area,” he said. ‘If you’re looking for someone, you’re really looking for a needle in a haystack’

In 2008, the park led the country’s national parks in suicides, according to the Arizona daily sun.

Many suicides are of people jumping off the ledge, but there are also a few who drove off in their cars.