Texas Man Falls 350 Feet to His Death at Grand Canyon

[Hissyspit]

Source: CBS News

Texas man falls 350 feet to his death at Grand Canyon

Mar 18, 2014 7:47 PM EDT

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. - Authorities investigating the death of a Texas man at Grand Canyon National Park believe he fell about 350 feet from the canyon's edge after trying to retrieve something, possibly a hat.

John N. Anderson, 53, of Grapevine, Texas, died Saturday after falling about 350 feet from the South Rim near El Tovar Lodge, park officials said. Witnesses reported seeing Anderson near a small rock wall that serves as a barrier between visitors and the massive gorge, but no one saw him fall, Grand Canyon Chief Ranger Bill Wright said Tuesday.

Wright said authorities believe Anderson was trying to retrieve something, possibly a hat, when he fell over the edge. The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a man falling around 8 a.m. Saturday.

Rangers found the man's body in a rock outcropping and began CPR, but efforts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful. A helicopter was used to remove Anderson's body, park spokeswoman Kirby-Lynn Shedlowski said.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-man-falls-350-feet-to-his-death-at-grand-canyon/

[pipoman]

1. Was he a banker?

[flying_wahini]

3. good question.

I hope death came quickly for him.

[nobodyspecial]

19. A man just died

Show some respect for a fellow human being.

[pipoman]

23. So have about 20 bankers in very similar ways. ..

Oh, if this upsets your sensibilities. ..lol

[hobbit709]

32. the barrier wall is there for a reason and no hat is that important.

[lostincalifornia]

2. I don't know what happened in this case, but there are a lot of idiots who visit the Grand Canyon

step over the safety fence to get a picture. I am surprised more of this doesn't happen

[longship]

5. Indeed. There are signs all over the place.

Yet when I was there last people routinely ignored them and went out beyond the boundaries. Amazing more are not killed. People are stupid. Mostly guys, BTW.





People just think that the signs do not apply to them.

[kentauros]

7. Or, they think the signs are there for legal reasons only,

Last edited Wed Mar 19, 2014, 07:44 AM - Edit history (2)

to cover the asses of the park in case anyone does get injured or die. They don't read instructions. They don't read signs. They don't take any of it seriously.

Oddly enough, Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson has a fine essay on the wisdom of reading warning signs or labels, though he starts out observing how said labels are often too ridiculous to take seriously:

Help, quick – I’ve unscrewed the top on a ticking bomb
Jeremy Clarkson
From The Sunday Times
October 4, 2009

Like any responsible parent, I would not leave a loaded gun in the children’s playroom or keep my painkillers in their sweetie tin. But it turns out that for two years there has been a nuclear bomb in one of my kitchen cupboards, between the tomato ketchup and the Rice Krispies.

It’s an American chilli sauce that was bought by my wife as a joky Christmas present. And, like all joky Christmas presents, it was put in a drawer and forgotten about. It’s called limited-edition Insanity private reserve and it came in a little wooden box, along with various warning notices. “Use this product one drop at a time,” it said. “Keep away from eyes, pets and children. Not for people with heart or respiratory problems. Use extreme caution.”

Unfortunately, we live in a world where everything comes with a warning notice. Railings. Vacuum cleaners. Energy drinks. My quad bike has so many stickers warning me of decapitation, death and impalement that they become a nonsensical blur.

The result is simple. We know these labels are drawn up to protect the manufacturer legally, should you decide one day to insert a vacuum-cleaner pipe up your bottom, or to try to remove your eye with a teaspoon. So we ignore them. They are meaningless. One drop at a time! Use extreme caution! On a sauce. Pah. Plainly it was just American lawyer twaddle.

(more at link)

[levp]

10. Maybe

he couldn't read in any of these languages....

[theHandpuppet]

24. The man was from Texas

I assume he had at least some passing knowledge of English. Not to mention the pictograms, which really don't need translation.

[levp]

31. I know, I know

I forgot the sign...
Doesn't apply to Texans, there are people like that everywhere. In the eternal words of Jeff Bridges, "I can do nothing for you son"

[CreekDog]

13. the Grand Canyon isn't fenced

you don't need to climb a fence to go over the side.

[lostincalifornia]

14. There are bars and warning signs to tell people not to go beyond that point. At least they were

There outside the area I was at

[Cracklin Charlie]

15. I spent a summer working at the Grand Canyon.

This area is one of the most touristy areas of the whole park. The wall runs all the way from the El Tovar Hotel to the head of the Bright Angel Trail. There are plenty of places along that wall between the El Tovar Hotel, and the Bright Angel Lodge, where it is possible to step right over the wall (the wall is about 2 feet tall), and stand or sit on a ledge in the canyon. Lovely place to take photos, but, it is probably not the safest place to go chasing a blowing hat.

I went over the wall just about every day while I ate my lunch. It was really the only place to get away from the tourists.

[Aerows]

38. My family went to the Grand Canyon when I was a child

We took pictures, and nobody did anything dumb like trying to climb over the retaining ledge. We saw some people that did, however. It takes all kinds to make a world.

[NeoConsSuck]

4. wonder if it was suicide

masked as an accident.

[greatlaurel]

6. Such a tragedy

There is a book Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon https://www.grandcanyon.org/shop/online-store/trip-planning/over-edge-death-grand-canyon-michael-p-ghiglieri-and-thomas-m-myers
It chronicles the known deaths in the Grand Canyon. It is so sad that these tragedies happen all too frequently.

The linked article in the OP says there are about 12 deaths per year. These are wild places which need constant vigilance when one is there. I do think the slashing of funding to the national parks has made them less safe due to the reduction in staffing levels and lack of upgrades and maintenance of the trails. With so many visitors, the park staff just do not have enough visibility and contact with the visitors.

In my state, the state parks near me are severely understaffed and are poorly maintained. Just last year there were three people killed in falls in the parks near us. Just not enough staff to make sure people do not get themselves in trouble, not to mention lack of maintenance.

[hatrack]

21. Sorry for the dupe - Failure To Read Thread in the First Degree!

[greatlaurel]

22. No problem, that book needs as many rec's as we can give it!

Sort of a funny story. My family was hiking there and the kids were pushing each other like kids do. As parents we were pretty unpleasant with them, as that is no place to goof around like that. When we reached one of the gift shop areas to take a break, I saw that book and made both of them take a good long look at some of the stories in it. They had a real readjustment of attitude and were the perfect little hikers thereafter. I have a debt of gratitude to the authors of that book for helping us keep our kids safe there and, of course, all the other wild places we have taken them since then!

Love the Canyon, but it is a serious place.

[mercymechap]

8. On one of my visits

I saw a couple with two kids sitting on the edge of one of the areas around the Canyon. Although it was sloped....my thought was if one of the kids should fall over, he could roll right on down to the very edge and down a long ways.....can't believe how people can be so careless and think that they are invincible, especially allowing their children to toy with danger like that.

[packman]

9. When I was at the Park I saw some stupid things

people leaning over the fence, climbing over it, and doing just dumb shit things treating the canyon like a carnival episode. The first time seeing it takes your breath away and I stayed as far away from the rim which would still allow me a view. The funniest was when a man reached under the tail of the donkeys that take people down the trail and reached for the donkey's private parts (I don't know why - just stupid) and the donkey back kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

[kentauros]

12. There are, indeed, too many stupid tourists out there.

Sometimes their stupidity kills them. Other times, they luck out, and hopefully learn an important lesson.

Tall Tales Vs. Turning Tail
Tourist Attraction | Florida, USA |

(I work at a visitor’s center on a refuge, which is by a large pond. As this is Florida, we naturally have alligators. A visitor approaches the help desk.)

Visitor: “You have a fake alligator outside!”

Coworker: “No, sir. It’s real.”

Visitor: “There’s no way that’s real!”

Coworker: “Sir, all our gators are real.”

Visitor: “I’ll prove it!”

(My coworker follows the visitor outside. Suddenly, the visitor goes up to an alligator resting along the side of the pond and grabs it by the tail.)

Alligator: *dives into the water*

Visitor: *face goes white*

[Aerows]

39. OMG the things I've seen people do around alligators

In Florida, no less. A six foot alligator was parked at the entrance way of the place where I worked. I stayed in my car. I'm not stupid. Two employees, I guess they were desperate to get into work, started throwing rocks at it from ten feet away.

Do people not realize that they can RUN faster than people can and lunge with humongous jaws? Someone else braver than I was got out of their truck, pulled a pistol and shot it into the ground to get their attention and tell them to get the heck away. I shudder to think what would have happened if those two idiots had kept tossing rocks at a six foot alligator that was getting steadily more and more pissed off.

Animal control finally came and shot it.

[Aerows]

40. Here's one for you

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/03/record-breaking-727-pound-gator_n_3859669.html

[kentauros]

41. That looks like something from, or the inspiration of,

a bad Sci Fi channel "most stupidest night on television" Saturday night movie

[hatrack]

20. "Over The Edge: Death In Grand Canyon" - weird and fascinating book

All kinds of people have died in more ways than you would think possible at Grand Canyon, in most cases due to extreme stupidity, mental illness/depression or (distant third) just plain bad luck.

It's a serious place, and it demands serious attention to what you're doing, and how, and where.

[mainer]

25. That book is sitting on my shelf right now

I bought it quite a few years ago, but I keep it as a reference. It impressed upon me how many the deaths there are due to arrogance, stupidity, and overconfidence by healthy young men.

[adirondacker]

27. I had the fortune of doing a 16 day dory trip down the Canyon...

We did about 10 up and over hikes throughout. It was a trip of a lifetime.

Thanks for the reading suggestion!

[oldandhappy]

11. Lots and lots of signs but

there are always people who thing they know more than the rangers. Sorry he lost his life and feel as if he was thoughtless. A hat??!!

[Hoppy]

16. Mt. Washington has lost about 180 people.

They don't like to read signs either.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

17. I guess retrieving a hat is better than the idiot who fell when I was a kid

trying to pee into the Grand Canyon.

[Flying Squirrel]

18. I had an image of Shrub reaching for his cowboy hat....

Was that wrong?

[treestar]

26. Can't even call Darwin on this. At 53, he had the chance to reproduce

Fear of heights may be a good thing.

[tarheelsunc]

28. Texas Man was jealous of Florida Man getting all the attention. eom

[Xolodno]

29. When I visit the National Parks, I like talking to the Rangers...

...for all the *stupid* they have to endure.

Yellowstone: Lady asked the Ranger "What time do they let all the animals out?"

Yosemite: Someone suggested at the Mariposa Grove "They should put a McDonalds at the top"

Zions: "Where is the elevator to the top?"

My personal observances:

Yellowstone: Someone walking in high heels on the...albeit paved...trail to the top of Lower Yellowstone Falls.

Yosemite: A family thought they could walk to Ostrander Lake....trail is six miles...2000 feet up...and you start at 7000 feet. All they had was small bottle of water. I was coming down with a full day hike pack...minus 80 ounces of water from my 100 ounce Camel back and a freeze dried meal (which I ate at the lake). They turned back thankfully...otherwise I would have drove out to Glacier Point and informed the Rangers.

I wish I was making this shit up...

[TrogL]

35. Niagara Falls, Canada

When do they turn off the falls? (actually, they did once for maintenance)

How come it isn't snowing? (Middle of summer, 1 mile away from Niagara Falls, NY where it is 90 degrees F.)

Where are the Eskimos? (they're not called that and they're 4000 miles away)

Can I make it to Montreal in time for lunch? (yes, if you take a jet)

You speak such good English here. (reminder - former English colony, I've got a Buffalo accent from too much US TV)

The cars here are the same as ours. (Many US-sold autos are built in Michigan and near Toronto)

[tenderfoot]

30. Arizona: At the Grand Canyon, 683 scary stories, all true

A good article regarding mishaps in the Grand Canyon...

2. Most unusual death?

Being scared to death by a rattlesnake. No one has died due to snakebite in the canyon, though several visitors have been bitten. But in 1933, one guy, a 43-year-old prospector named Cochrane from California, was hiking down Snake Gulch (for real). He was terrified of snakes. A rattlesnake coiled up and rattled at him and made a partial strike, a feint. Cochrane leaped backward and died of heart failure, confirmed by a physician.

6. Is it true that somebody once fell to his death in the canyon because he slipped while pretending to fall to his death?

Sad to say this is true. In 1992, 38-year-old Greg Austin Gingrich leaped atop the guard wall and wind-milled his arms, playing-acting losing his balance to scare his teenaged daughter, then he comically "fell" off the wall on the canyon side onto a short slope where he assumed he could land safely. As his daughter walked on, trying not to fuel her father's dangerous antics by paying attention to them, Gingrich missed his footing and fell silently about 400 feet into the void. It took rangers quite a while to locate his body -- and to determine that his daughter was an orphan only due to his foolishness.

7. Is it true that someone once deliberately jumped to his death from a sightseeing helicopter over the canyon?

Hard to believe, but it is true. Richard Clam decided to commit suicide in this way in June of 2004. He had to wait three days to get the seat he wanted on the flight (the shotgun seat in the helicopter). He made the scenic flight, then forced his way out of the cockpit during the return. “Traumatized” understates the condition of the other passengers aboard and of the pilot. Clam plunged about 4,000 feet. It took 15 Park Service Personnel to gather the body parts. No scene in CSI was more grisly than Clam's impact point.

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/19/news/la-trb-death-grand-canyon-20120315

[Scout]

33. mule rides are safest way to see the canyon

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/395724.Over_the_Edge

"Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon" is a fascinating read ... catalogs all the recorded deaths in the canyon.

i read it before i went out to the canyon last time.

[TrogL]

34. I used to work for the Niagara Parks Commission

My position required frequent contact with the Parks Police. They'd tell me stories about some of the idiot shit tourists pull, especially climbing over the barricades.

There were occasional suicide attempts, I even helped out preventing one, but most of it was stupidity like posing for photos.

[dembotoz]

36. i used to date a girl with absloutely no fear of heights

wonderful woman --should have married her--biggest mistake in my life--but to return to the point.

this is something she would have done--god she used to freak me out--i get nervous stepping off a curb.

[Nac Mac Feegle]

37. I am at The Canyon this week and next, for work

This has been quite a conversation topic among the 'locals', and they lost another one today (Wednesday) in the river at the West end.

These people don't realize that it HUNDREDS, if not THOUSANDS of FEET. STRAIGHT. F***ING. DOWN.

You DO NOT mess around this type of stuff. We have safety equipment, like belts and harnesses, when we work on our equipment on the edge.

This is Arizona. It's a Desert. That means very little water. And high temperatures. Even up here at The Canyon, it's dry. And exertion will dehydrate you even quicker. And we still get people that try to do rim-to-rim in a day with a can of Coke.

"Over the Edge" is a very useful book, it's updated every two years, I seem to remember. Because people insist on competing for Darwin Awards.


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Definition:

Autodarwination - n. The act of selecting ones' self out of the gene pool through an act of gratuitous stupidity. v. Autodarwinate.