UTAH COUNTY, Utah, July 30, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Authorities in Utah County have identified a 25-year-old man from Mexico who was killed Sunday afternoon after being struck by falling debris at Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon.
The deceased is Fernando Alderete Salazar, Sgt. Spencer Cannon, public information officer for the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Investigators initially were told the victim was 23 years old.
“Fernando was at the base of the main falls at Bridal Veil Sunday when debris fell from above him and hit him in the head,” the news release said. “He died at the scene. His family is working with the Office of the Mexican Consulate to have his remains returned to Mexico.”
In a news release Sunday night, Cannon said deputies were dispatched shortly before 2 p.m. on a report of a seriously injured man at the base of the main falls at Bridal Veil.
It was first thought that the man had fallen, but after investigating, it was learned that something had fallen from the first terrace at Bridal Veil Falls and struck him.
Cannon said there is no reason to think the debris fell because of other hikers in the area.
Family members who were with the gravely injured 25-year-old tried to revive him. When deputies and North Fork Fire Department medical personnel arrived, they saw that his injuries were fatal, and volunteers with UCSO Search and Rescue assisted in removing the victim from the falls.
Salazar’s body was taken to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner in Taylorsville.
“Family said he (the victim) was planning to be here for about two weeks to attend a family function,” Cannon said in the news release.
His family released the following statement:
“He was a good kid. He was a soccer fan of Cruz Azul and he will even be wearing a team shirt in his funeral. He was going to graduate college and become an accountant. He always helped his family out and all his friends and family loved him. He was just 25 years old.”
The family has established a GoFundMe account, “Bring Fernando Home”, to help with expenses of returning Salazar to Mexico.
