A 35-year-old woman named Colleen Burns died after she slipped on a hedge while hiking on the Grand Canyon on Friday, July 8, 2016. According to park officials, Burns had stepped aside to let another hiker pass her. Unfortunately, she lost her balance and ended up falling 400 feet into the Grand Canyon.
Burns was hiking with her friend when she fell. The friend stated that watching Colleen fall into the Grand Canyon was the strangest and longest two seconds of her life. Park rangers found Burns’ body. The medical examiners stated that she suffered several blunt force injuries.
Buns worked for Yelp as a regional marketing director since 2009. A spokesperson for Yelp released a statement saying that the company was heartbroken by her death. Burns’ mother stated that she had just talked to her daughter a day before she died. The last thing that Colleen told her mother was that she was content with her life and looking forward to traveling the world.
Colleen’s parents stated that their daughter was fearless and open to trying anything. They also stated that she knew how to live her life to the fullest. Colleen posted a few photos on her Instagram page shortly before she died.
Dying from heat or dehydration is more common than falling off the edge in the Grand Canyon, but it is still a major concern. According to the Arizona Daily Sun, of the “55 who have accidentally fallen from the rim of the canyon, 39 were male. Eight of those guys were hopping from one rock to another or posing for pictures, including a 38-year-old father from Texas pretending to fall to scare his daughter, who then really did fall 400 feet to his death.”
Source:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/07/13/woman-lets-hikers-pass-canyon-falls-death/87023640/