1 dead, 1 rescued after cold night camping in Zion National Park
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ZION NATIONAL PARK (KSL.com) — One person is dead after camping overnight in the Narrows section of Zion National Park.
Park shuttle drivers on Wednesday reported that visitors had encountered an injured man and a non-responsive woman in the Narrows.
The Zion National Park Search and Rescue Team responded and found the man on Riverside Walk. Team members transported the man to the Zion Emergency Operations Center.
Farther up the Narrows, other team members found a non-responsive woman near the Virgin River. First responders administered emergency aid, but they determined she was deceased, according to a release from the park.
The release said that the two involved were a married couple, a 33-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman.
The couple on Tuesday began a 16-mile, top-down trip through the Narrows. The man reported that they “became dangerously cold overnight and experienced symptoms consistent with hypothermia,” according to the release.
They stopped about a mile and a half from the north end of Riverside Walk — a paved trail that leads from the Temple of Sinawava to the Narrows.
Early Wednesday morning, the man continued on the trail to look for help while the woman stayed behind.
According to the release, park rangers encountered the man on Riverside Walk where other visitors were assisting him down the trail. Other visitors located farther up the Narrows administered CPR to the woman before Zion Search and Rescue Team members arrived.
“The National Park Service appreciates these visitors’ efforts,” said a release from the park.
The park’s response involved more than 20 search and rescue team members.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Utah Office of the Medical Examiner and the National Park Service are still investigating the cause of the woman’s death as of Thursday evening.