17-year-old girl dies after falling 30 feet while hiking in Moab
(File photo: KUTV)
MOAB, Utah (KUTV) — A teenage girl has died after officials said she fell approximately 30 feet down from a ledge in Moab.
Police said they received a call at 4:10 p.m. on Friday about the incident off Moab Rim Trail near Kane Creek.
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They said a 17-year-old girl was hiking with friends in a steep area without equipment before she fell. Officials pronounced her dead at the scene.
Asst. Chief Lex Bell with Moab Police Department said the recovery efforts to get to the girl were difficult due to the location.
Bell said in order to reach the girl, they had to use special equipment, including a ladder truck to set it up close to the cliff.
Family members were on scene and it was "heartbreaking," Bell expressed.
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"She’s really well-known in the community and I’ve met her," Bell said. "It’s unbelievably tragic and the timing is even just that much more tragic with tonight and what was going to occur."
She was planned to receive a reward Friday evening at halftime during her school's basketball game.
"We’re all very emotional. Some much more than others. A lot of us are fathers and mothers of children about that age. Myself included," Bell said. "These are the hardest things that we deal with. So yeah, there were a lot of tears on scene and there will be."
Bell said they are a really tight-knit community and everybody was already coming together, supporting one another.
"It’s tragic no matter the circumstances – this one just had a lot of really tragic undertones," he said.
Grand County High School identified the girl through a social post Friday night as Zoe McKinney.
"The school community is grieving with Zoe's family and will provide love and support in any way we can, including having therapists available at school on Monday. Zoe was a remarkable student and we will honor her memory throughout the remainder of this senior year," school officials said.
The district said if anyone needs to talk to someone following the tragic death to call FCCBH crisis line at 435-260-2919.
