Deputies identify 2 found dead in apparent fall at Bryce Canyon National Park

Utah Department of Public Safety's helicopter works to recover two bodies at Bryce Canyon National Park on Tuesday. Investigators with the Garfield County Sheriff's Office say the man and woman apparently fell off a cliff.

Utah Department of Public Safety's helicopter works to recover two bodies at Bryce Canyon National Park on Tuesday. Investigators with the Garfield County Sheriff's Office say the man and woman apparently fell off a cliff. (Garfield County Sheriff's Office)


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TROPIC, Garfield County — A man and a woman found dead in Bryce Canyon National Park after an apparent fall have been identified by sheriff's deputies.

Matthew Nannen, 45, and Bailee Crane, 58, were recovered Tuesday afternoon after they were found an estimated 380 feet below Inspiration Point, according to a statement Wednesday from the Garfield County Sheriff's Office. Deputies worked with Bryce Canyon park rangers and the Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter crew to recover the bodies.

Sheriff's spokesman Wade Mathews said investigators are not exactly sure when Nannen and Crane fell, but they have narrowed it down to some point between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

"Detectives are considering all possibilities, but preliminary investigations have not been able to definitively determine the cause of the fall," the statement says.

The conditions at Bryce Canyon at the time were slick and wet from snow in the area, Mathews said.

The sheriff's office says Nannen and Crane's last known residence was in Florida, and it appears the two were living out of a U-Haul that was located near Bryce Canyon.

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Cassidy Wixom is an award-winning reporter for KSL.com. She covers Utah County communities, arts and entertainment, and breaking news. Cassidy graduated from BYU before joining KSL in 2022.

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