A mountain biker was found dead yesterday after apparently falling 200-feet from a popular trail in southern Utah.
A group of mountain bikers on Gooseberry Mesa came across a bike on Gooseberry Point, five miles east of Hurricane, before spotting what appeared to be a body at the bottom of a cliff below the bike. They immediately called 911. Rescue crews used a drone to assess the situation from a nearby highway.
A highly technical rescue was required by the sheriff’s high angle team, along with the Hildale search and rescue team, to load the body into a basket and lift it out of the area. The identity of the mountain biker was not immediately released.
Gooseberry Mesa, a short drive from nearby Hurricane, UT, is well known as a mountain biking destination and attracts riders from all over the world. Undulating slickrock and tight cliffside tracks make for a thrilling time on wheels, among the big-picture scenery of the tall, white sentinels of Zion, the red spires of Eagle Crags, the verdant Virgin River Valley, sandy hills surrounding St. George.