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20-year-old dead after falling from South Rim of Grand Canyon

Rescue personnel with Grand Canyon Search and Rescue, donned in bright shirts and helmets, use a mobile crane to recover the body of a 20-year-old man who fell from the South Rim of the canyon, a quarter mile west of Pipe Creek Overlook, on July 31, 2024.
Grand Canyon National Park
Rescue personnel with Grand Canyon Search and Rescue recovered the body of a 20-year-old man who fell from the South Rim of the canyon, a quarter mile west of Pipe Creek Overlook, on July 31, 2024.

Officials with Grand Canyon National Park recovered the body of a 20-year-old North Carolina Man who fell from the South Rim Wednesday morning.

Abel Joseph Mejia was about a quarter of a mile west of the Pipe Creek overlook along the rim trail when he accidentally fell about 400 feet, said park spokesperson Joelle Baird. There is no railing along that section of the trail.

The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center was notified that Mejia had fallen at about 10:40 a.m.

Grand Canyon Search and Rescue personnel descended the cliff to recover the body of Mejia. He was visiting the canyon as part of a youth ministry group.

Baird said Mejia was somewhat separated from the rest of the group when he fell, but exactly how he fell is still under investigation.

Park officials say all visitors should stay on designated trails and keep a safe distance from the edge of the rim.