Man's Grand Canyon Fall Kills Him: Texas Visitor Drops 350 Feet to His Death
A man's Grand Canyon fall killed him when he was visiting the huge Arizona crater Saturday morning. Authorities have speculated that the John N. Anderson of Grapevine, Texas was attempting to reach something when he fell 350 feet to his death.
The man's Grand Canyon fall occurred near the El Tovar Lodge. Even though Grand Canyon National Park officials haven't yet determined how he fell, they and Anderson's relatives have ruled out foul play.
"He wasn't trying to shoot a photograph or anything like that," Suzy Naughalty, Anderson's sister-in-law, told The Fort Worth Star-Telegram Tuesday. "It was just a freakish accident."
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Authorities received reports that someone had fallen around 8 a.m. that day. Anderson was visiting the Grand Canyon with his wife, but she wasn't with him when he fell. Some speculated that the 53-year-old could have been reaching for his hat when he tipped over the railing and fell to his death.
After park rangers located Anderson, they began cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Unfortunately, his injuries from the fall were too severe and he succumbed to them at the scene, the Cococino County medical examiner's office in Flagstaff, Ariz. told The Star-Telegram.
"We don't have a final autopsy, but the manner of death is an accident," Trish Lees, who works at the medical examiner's office, explained.
Anderson is survived by his wife, his two sons and his daughter.
Out of the 5 million people that visit the Grand Canyon each year, park rangers are needed for 1,300 medical emergencies and 300 search and rescue missions per year, park statistics stated. 12 people died at the national park in 2012 from maladies like heat stroke, hypothermia, drowning and falls.
