SANDY, Utah –Police have identified a man who fell to his death in Bell Canyon Friday evening.
Police received a call from stranded hikers just before 5 p.m., and the men were in a portion of Bell Canyon with steep cliffs.
A hiker reported he and a friend had been rappelling when 50-year-old Michael Lydon of Park City fell and suffered a head injury. The hiker who called police was stranded on a rock face and he reported that his friend had been injured.
Crews searched for several hours and were able to locate the men, at which time it was determined that Lydon was deceased. Crews helped the other hiker to safety and recovered Lydon’s body.
Det. Ken Hansen of the Unified Police Department urged people to be aware of the changing conditions.
“I think maybe people are a little surprised at how quickly it gets dark now,” he said. “So they may be used to going up and hiking at, you know, 4, 5, 6 o’clock in the afternoon, now by 5 or 6 it gets fairly dark… it complicates the situation for them and it certainly complicates the rescue when we don’t have light.”
