Rappeller dies in Zion Park

ZION NATIONAL PARK — A 48-year-old man rappelling down the side of a cliff fell to his death.

Washington County sheriff's deputies said the man fell near the Emerald Pools area of the park Monday night.

"According to witnesses who had been traveling with the hiker, he had been rappelling in the park when he fell approximately 300 feet," sheriff's spokeswoman Stephanie Coots said Tuesday.

Two other people who were with him had to hike down to the park lodge to notify rangers. Officers were dispatched to the scene around 11:30 p.m. Monday.

The man's body has been sent to the Utah Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy. Washington County sheriff's deputies declined to release the man's identity, pending notification of family members.