Shortly after noon on September 7, National Park Service (NPS) authorities at Grand Canyon National Park received alerts that a vehicle had driven off the rim of the canyon near South Kaibab Trailhead.
According to a press release, park rangers responded “immediately” and recovered the body of one individual, Steven (Drew) Bradley, 27, of Federal Heights, Colo., about 300 feet below the rim. A helicopter transferred the body up to the rim, where it was then taken to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.
An investigation is underway, and authorities have not released any information related to the cause of the incident.
This is not the first time that a vehicular incident has occurred in the park. Individuals have driven their cars off the rim’s edge in 2009, 2021, and in February of this year, all resulting in fatalities. According to NPS data, from 2014 to 2019, there were 103 total deaths in Grand Canyon National Park, and 14 of those were classified as suicides.
GearJunkie reached out to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office, but did not immediately receive a response. When asked for comment, the Grand Canyon Office of Communications declined to provide any additional information beyond the press release.
The NPS news release included a link to the Suicide and Crisis lifeline at 988. We will update this story as more information becomes available.
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