UTAH COUNTY, Utah—
A Timpanogos Cave National Park service worker died Thursday afternoon after falling 500 feet. The victim, 58-year-old Rex Walker from Pleasant Grove, was working with other park employees to remove loose rocks in an effort to prevent rock slides on the mountain's hiking trails. His co-workers said Walker was riding a small motorcycle at the time of the accident, which happened around 1:30 p.m. As the crew was preparing to move to a new location, they heard a crash and noticed Walker was missing."At the time, he was on a small trail motorbike that he's used hundreds of times up and down this trail," said Dennis Davis, superintendent of Timpanogos Cave. "We had two employees that were spotters. They did not see him go over the edge, but they heard it."
After Walker went over the edge, the motorbike became lodged in some brush on the mountainside. Walker was then thrown off the motorbike and fell to his death. He is remembered as a hard worker who arrived at work early and stayed late. His death has shaken his fellow Timpanogos Cave employees.
Later after word of his death, family members gathered, grieving together at the place where Walker worked maintenance for, Timpanogos Cave.
"He loved his co-workers and he is just a loving person, he gets along with everybody so well he enjoys what he does and so for him it wasn't coming to work, it was coming to play," said Walker's brother Gary.
