A 13-year-old girl fell to her death from a popular narrow trail bordered by steep drops at Zion National Park, officials said Tuesday.
The Utah girl was hiking with family when she tumbled from the Angel's Landing Trail on Monday evening, park ranger John Marciano said. She was quickly discovered by hikers on the West Rim Trail below.
FILE - This Sept. 15, 2015, file photo, shows Zion National Park near Springdale, Utah. Zion National Park officials say a 13-year-old girl has fallen to her death from a popular narrow trail bordered by steep drops. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
Angel's Landing was closed Tuesday morning to investigate the fall from the path that ascends some 1,500 feet (457 meters) above the southern Utah park's red-rock cliffs. There has been about one death each of the last two years on the trail, Marciano said.
The girl had done the hike before, and the trail was clear of ice and snow.
FILE - In this May 8, 2011, file photo, hikers climb down the Angels Landing trail in Zion National Park, in Utah. Zion National Park officials say a 13-year-old girl has fallen to her death from a popular narrow trail bordered by steep drops. (Jud Burkett /The Spectrum & Daily News via AP, File)
"It was just a beautiful day. It's at time you wouldn't expect anything to happen," Marciano said.
It did not appear that anyone had witnessed the fall, he said. The girl's name and hometown were not immediately released.
The iconic trail offers sweeping views of the red-rock park in southern Utah and has become especially popular among visitors inspired by social media posts. But it also comes with dire safety warnings about the danger of falls, Marciano said.
This Feb. 23, 2014, photo shows Angel's Landing Trail in Utah's Zion National Park. The national park officials say a 13-year-old girl has fallen to her death from the popular narrow trail bordered by steep drops. The trail follows the ridge at right to the top. (AP Photo/Courtney Bonnell)
Anyone with young children or problems with heights is advised not to make the trek, he said.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A photojournalist who covered world events such as the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, the fall of the Berlin Wall and Nelson Mandela's release from prison was fatally stabbed during a weekend hike in the San Gabriel Mountains and his 19-year-old son has been charged in the killing.
Paul Lowe, 60, a British photographer, war journalist and professor at the University of the Arts London, suffered “trauma to his upper torso” and was pronounced dead Saturday on a road near Stoddard Canyon Falls, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office said in a news release.
The county medical examiner's office said Lowe died from a stab wound to the neck.
A man later identified as Lowe's son was seen driving away and was involved in a solo vehicle crash a few miles away. Based on evidence at the scene, coupled with statements made by the son and witnesses, he was arrested, the sheriff's office said.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, which filed one count of murder against the son, Emir Abadzic Lowe, said first responders were called to the scene by a passerby. It said the son was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday. The office did not say whether he had a lawyer.
Paul Lowe was a professor of conflict, peace and the image at the University of the Arts' London College of Communication, according to its website. The university said has been “a deeply valued colleague” for more than two decades.
“Paul’s work across his career made a ground-breaking impact in the representation of war and conflict and latterly in the complex cultural negotiations involved in peace and reconciliation work,” the university said in a statement. “Paul leaves an incredible legacy as an award-winning photographer, author, critic and, not least, as a truly compassionate educator.”
His book, “Bosnians” documented 10 years of war and the post-war situation in Bosnia. It was published in 2005. More recent books include “Photography Masterclass”, “Understanding Photojournalism," ’Reporting the Siege of Sarajevo” and “Photography, Bearing Witness and the Yugoslav Wars, 1988-2021," according to the website.
In an interview with The Guardian, Lowe said he focused on casualties and hospital patients during the early days of the siege of Sarajevo. He eventually became preoccupied with what happens to people when “reduced to the medieval conditions caused by a siege.”
“People would risk their lives for a little pleasure,” he said. “And it could be very hard on kids, who obviously didn’t want to be stuck indoors. During quieter periods, they were able to go outside more — I took a picture of children swimming in the river during a ceasefire. But the river, like so much of the city, was clearly visible to Serbian snipers. One winter, I attended an awful scene: a group of five or six children had been killed by a shell while sledging in front of their house.”
He discussed a photo he took of a child on a street with a ball. “It’s such an ordinary thing for a kid to do, but it’s happening against the backdrop of the tank trap, a hint of the ever-present danger,” he said.
Many people paid tribute to Lowe.
“Paul was a very talented, courageous and committed photojournalist who repeatedly put himself in harm’s way to show the world the reality of war zones and humanitarian crises around the world,” said Santiago Lyon, a former vice president and director of photography at The Associated Press who worked with Lowe during the siege of Sarajevo in the early 1990s. "He then became an accomplished and well respected educator dedicated to preparing future generations of photojournalists. His untimely death has profoundly affected the photojournalism community and we are in shock.”
Lowe taught at an academy through The VII Foundation, which trains and equips journalists from communities underrepresented in the media.
“Paul was a courageous and beloved comrade, and a deeply devoted father and husband. The loss is shocking and overwhelming, and our hearts go out to his wife and family,” the foundation posted in a statement online.
This photograph, provided by the VII Foundation, shows Paul Lowe posing for a portrait in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, May 7, 2019. (Justin McKie/VII Foundation via AP)
This photograph, provided by the VII Foundation, shows Paul Lowe posing for a portrait in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, May 7, 2019. (Justin McKie/VII Foundation via AP)
