Hikers find cell phone video of Utah woman being 'swept away' by river; body recovered
A hiker in Utah, whose phone was found with a video of her being swept away, was found dead below a waterfall at Horsetail Falls, the Utah County's Sheriff's Office said.
In a news release, the sheriff's said that two hikers were hiking in the area near Horsetail Falls when they came across a "small dog with a cell phone and some personal items that appeared suspicious to them." They alerted authorities "worried that someone might have fallen into the water of Dry Creek and could be in trouble" just before 3:00 p.m. Friday.
"One of these men found a video on the phone that showed a young woman near the water when she was swept away by the heavy water flow," the sheriff's office said.
Body recovered; 'conditions were treacherous,' sheriff's office says
Authorities and rescue officials responded to the situation and with the help of a helicopter with the Utah Department of Public Safety, they were able to locate the woman "stuck under some trees in the water about 100 yards below Horsetail Falls" shortly after 5:00 p.m.
The victim was identified as Cynthia Ann Grimwood, 19, of Springville.
The sheriff's office said that the "area where the victim was stuck in the water was full with heavy snow melt runoff and conditions were treacherous." Steep rock walls around the area also made it difficult to access and retrieve the body. With nighttime falling, rescue officials made the decision to extract the body the following day to avoid creating any undue risk. Volunteers with Utah Search and Rescue stayed at the site overnight "to watch for any change in the situation," the sheriff's office said.
The next morning on Saturday, rescue officials were able to safely retrieve the victim's body from the water. The body was then taken to the Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.
"On behalf of all who were involved in the search for and recovery of Cynthia we express deep condolences to her family at her loss," the sheriff's office said, in a statement.
Located in Alpine, the Horsetail Falls Trail is about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.