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MOHAVE COUNTY — A Utah teen fell to his death while hiking this weekend.
Late Sunday morning, Mohave County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a call about a fallen hiker near 1800 East and Cane Beds Road in Cane Beds, Ariz.
Rulon Jessop, 16, was hiking with his brother and uncles in Cane Beds, when he lost his footing and fell approximately 100 feet to the rocky bottom of a cliff face.
Trish Carter, public information specialist in the Mohave County Sheriff’s office said the reports also reached Colorado City Fire Department, who were on the scene when the Mohave County deputies arrived around 11:58 a.m. Jessop was declared dead at the scene.
Jessop and his family had been climbing the face of a rock to reach a high cave, when he slipped and fell. His uncles were ahead of him in the climb, and had already reached the cave. The family had been camping in the area before, about five miles down an unnamed dirt road near the Utah Arizona border.
Carter said the area is full of steep, rough terrain, particularly in the area where the group was trying to enter the cave.
The victim had sustained bruises to his head and neck, as well as his stomach. His body was recovered and released to the Mohave County Medical Examiner, according to the St. George News.
“I’ll do a complete examination of the body and through my X-rays and examination, if I don’t find enough external injuries to say that it was a fall, we need to determine the cause of death,” Mohave County M.E. Rexene Worrell told the St. George News. “… If there are injuries that are consistent with a fall, I can document those without an autopsy.”
