EMERY COUNTY, Utah — A 24-year-old man was killed last week in a hiking accident in Cottonwood Canyon in Emery County.
FOX 13 INVESTIGATES: Hikers pay deadly price on Zion's Angels Landing trail
The sheriff's office says Matthew J. Schnitzer of New York had been camping with a friend above Orangeville for nearly a week when they went hiking Thursday. According to the friend, Schnitzer chose to keep hiking when the friend decided to return to camp.
After Schnitzer failed to return, the friend looked for him until midnight, and then resumed the following morning.
Emery County Sheriff’s Office and Search and Rescue were notified and later found Schnitzer's body at the bottom of an 80-foot cliff.
READ: Draper man dead after falling off Angels Landing at Zion NP
Authorities believe Schnitzer lost his footing and "slid off the edge." The family was notified after his body was transported from the scene.
"ECSO extends condolences to Matthew Schnitzer's family and friends at this difficult time," the department wrote.
FATAL HIKING ACCIDENT IN COTTONWOOD CANYON, EMERY COUNTY, UTAH: A 24-year-old man lost his life in a hiking accident in...
Posted by Emery County Sheriff's Office on Monday, April 26, 2021
