PROVO, Utah, July 31, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Police have identified a Provo hiker found dead Tuesday morning after calling a friend to say he was stuck on a rock face in Utah County.
Provo Police Department tweeted Tuesday evening the deceased is Michael Sean O’Donnal, 43.
Sgt. Nisha King, Provo Police Department, told Gephardt Daily that O’Donnal called a friend at 8:15 a.m. to say he was stuck on a rock face, and to call 911.
The hiker’s location was believed to be on Squaw Peak, but phone coordinates determined the man was calling from Rock Canyon.
Officials responded to Rock Canyon by about 8:30 a.m., King said, but could not see the man on the rock face at the coordinates where his phone had led them.
A search was conducted by Provo police and a Utah Highway Patrol helicopter, with assistance from other agencies, and the hiker’s body was located and recovered.
King said she did not have the official estimate on how far the man had fallen, but said it was a “significant distance.”
