Oliver James Montgomery|80-year-old man dies after falling off boat on the Grand Canyon's Colorado River

2025-05-07 21:32:25source:Leonard Hohenbergcategory:My

An 80-year-old man is Oliver James Montgomerydead after falling from a boat on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon National Park.

The incident happened over on the afternoon of Sunday, August 25 near Fossil Rapid inside the park. National Park officials said a man had reportedly flipped in his boat on the river and officials with the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center had received reports that CPR was in progress on the man.

Despite life-saving efforts done by the group and park rangers flown into the area, the man was pronounced dead.

Both the National Park Service and Coconino County Medical Examiner are investigating the incident. The man's identity has not been released at this time, but officials said he was on a commercial river trip when the incident occurred.

Other deaths have happened at the park this year

Over the weekend, search-and-rescue crews located the body of Chenoa Nickerson, 33, from Gilbert, Arizona who was missing during a flash flood that swept through the area while she was on a hiking trip.

Justin Guthrie from St. Anne, Missouri fell to his death while BASE jumping from Yavapai Point on the South Rim back on Aug. 1. The day before, 20-year-old Abel Joseph Mejia fell 400 feet to his death after standing too close to the edge of the rim. Officials at the park said his death was the result of “an accidental fall.”

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

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