A Utah lady died after plunging in the Grand Canyon while on a private boating adventure, according to the National Parks Service.
Margaret Osswald, 34, of Salt Lake City, died on Monday at 6:30 p.m. after falling about 20 feet near the Ledges Camp along the Colorado River.
Oswald was on the sixth day of a multi-day private boating vacation. Officials said she fell while going up the canyon to meet her friends at Phantom Ranch, a historic lodge.
Members of the river trip group saw she was unresponsive and tried CPR.
Grand Canyon National Park officials sought an emergency helicopter response from the Arizona Department of Public Safety because of the darkness, which arrived at 8:30 p.m. She was pronounced dead at the spot.
The National Park Service as well as the Coconino County Medical Examiner are investigating the tragedy.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Osswald worked for the Utah Division of Water Quality as an assistant director.
“We are heartbroken by this loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this difficult time,” the agency said in a statement to the newspaper.
She is the fourth individual to pass away this year in Grand Canyon National Park. A Colorado lady died last week after falling overboard into whitewater rapids.
