A 17-year-old girl is dead after losing her footing and falling 30 feet from a ledge off of a Utah hiking trail.
Zoe McKinney was hiking with a group of friends on the trail near Kane Creek in the town of Moab Friday afternoon.
She had gotten to a steep area and was without equipment before she fell off the ledge.
Police received a call regarding McKinney's fall at around 4:10 p.m., but officials struggled to reach her due to how far she'd fallen, calling it a 'deep, cliffy area.'
With help from several other departments in the region, an officer was able to rappel down using ropes and harnesses to reach the 17-year-old. McKinney was pronounced dead at the scene.
Zoe McKinney was hiking with a group of friends on the trail near Kane Creek in the town of Moab Friday afternoon. She had gotten to a steep area and was without equipment before she fell off the ledge
Assistant Chief Lex Bell of Moab Police said that he knew McKinney and felt that the entire community would be heartbroken over her death.
'She's really well-known in the community and I've met her,' Bell said. 'It's unbelievably tragic.'
McKinney was set to receive an award from her school - Grand County High School - at halftime of the varsity basketball game that very evening.
'The timing is even just that much more tragic with tonight and what was going to occur,' Bell added.
The assistant police chief referred to Moab and Grand County as a very close community where everyone knew each other and that McKinney had numerous family and friends in the area.
A digital image of the broad expanse of Kane Creek Canyon in Utah near where McKinney fell
McKinney was set to receive an award from her school - Grand County High School - at halftime of the varsity basketball game that very evening
Assistant Chief Lex Bell of Moab Police said that he knew McKinney and felt that the entire community would be heartbroken over her death
'She's really well-known in the community and I've met her,' Bell said. 'It's unbelievably tragic,' the chief said
The assistant police chief referred to Moab and Grand County as a very close community where everyone knew each other and that McKinney had numerous family and friends in the area
'We're all very emotional. Some much more than others. A lot of us are fathers and mothers of children about that age. Myself included,' Bell told KUTV. 'These are the hardest things that we deal with. So yeah, there were a lot of tears on scene and there will be.'
Grand County High School made a statement identifying McKinney on Friday evening.
'The school community is grieving with Zoe's family and will provide love and support in any way we can, including having therapists available at school on Monday. Zoe was a remarkable student and we will honor her memory throughout the remainder of this senior year,' school officials wrote.
The school district provided a hotline for any students seeking counseling following McKinney's passing.
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