GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Arizona, April 5, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A Salt Lake City woman was fatally injured Monday after a fall in the Grand Canyon, in the area of Ledge Camp along the Colorado River.
The deceased is Margaret Osswald, 34, who served as an assistant director of Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality — Water quality.
The National Park Service issued a statement on the incident.
“On Monday, April 4 at approximately 6:30 p.m., Grand Canyon National Park was alerted of an unresponsive river trip participant near Ledges Camp (river mile 152) along the Colorado River,” the statement says.
“Due to darkness, Grand Canyon National Park requested Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) emergency helicopter response. DPS arrived on scene at Ledges Camp at approximately 8:30 p.m. and pronounced the individual deceased.”
Osswald had hiked into the canyon to meet a river trip at Phantom Ranch, and was on day six of a multi-day private boating trip, the statement says.
Officials say she was near camp “when she fell approximately 20 feet and sustained fatal injuries.”
Group members attempted CPR, but Osswald did not survive, the statement says. An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner.
