Camille's body is found

PROVO CANYON — After 11 days of frantic hunting and hopeful prayers, the search for Camille Cleverley is over.

Search and rescue personnel found the 22-year-old's body Sunday at the base of a 200-foot cliff, about 1,000 yards east of Bridal Veil Falls, Utah County Sheriff James Tracy said. Cleverley's father later identified the body.

"I'm happy she's found," said David Sperry, Cleverley's boyfriend of a year and a half.

He and about 25 of Cleverley's friends and family huddled at the base of the mountain comforting each other as they waited tensely for the search and rescue crew to bring Cleverley to them Sunday afternoon. Surveying the jagged cliff face where the body was located, Sperry said he was relieved to learn circumstances did not seem to indicate "foul play."

Police had not determined the cause of death Sunday but said Cleverley "succumbed to her injuries." Pending completion of a full investigation, police did not rule anything out, including suicide and foul play.

"The fall distance was considerable," Tracy said. "At this point and time, it appears that a fall was involved."

According to family members, Cleverley frequently hiked above the falls and was familiar with the area, Tracy said. The trails crisscrossing the cliffs east of Bridal Veil Falls begin at the base of the falls where the mountain bike Cleverly was last seen riding Aug. 30 was locked up.

With the body, detectives found a CamelBak brand water carrier and two of the same drinks purchased with Cleverley's debit card the morning after her disappearance, Tracy said.

Detectives indicated it was evident Cleverley had died several days ago.

It took a crew of 25 search and rescue personnel about 45 minutes to bring the body down from the mountain.

"It's difficult to move around in that area because of the trees," said Jared Hansen, a Utah County Search and Rescue crew member who helped carry Cleverley down in a stokes litter. "There's so much brush you just can't move. The rocks were sliding so we were fighting for our footing."

Because of the thick scrub oak, Hansen said searchers would not have seen Cleverley if their line had been 10 feet shorter. The area where Cleverley was found was searched three to four times before the body was located. It was the last planned sweep of the day.