Passing driver finds missing Provo hiker, 95

PROVO — A 95-year-old Provo man was found Saturday after being missing for about 24 hours.

George Jarvis had been hiking on an overgrown footpath in Canyon View Park when he stumbled and fell about 40 feet down a steep embankment, police said.

A passer-by found Jarvis about noon Saturday when she stopped at a red light near 5200 N. University, according to Provo police. The woman saw something moving when she peered across the street. On second glance, she identified the source of the movement as a leg.

Jarvis was taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in good condition. He was later flown to LDS Hospital for surgery on his neck, his grandson, Steve Jarvis, told the Deseret News.

Steve Jarvis described his grandfather as an avid hiker who has been "everywhere."

"He goes hiking all the time," he said. "But he doesn't take his hearing aids with him, so he may not have heard people searching."

Steve Jarvis said his grandfather had been hiking "off-trail" when it got late, so the man hunkered down for the night.

"Luckily it was a warm night," he said.

More than 40 people scoured trails and rivers near Canyon View Park in Provo Canyon looking for Jarvis on Saturday. He went for a hike around 11:30 a.m. Friday, and family members started to worry when he didn't return a few hours later.

Police said Jarvis didn't have any water with him.

The search Saturday was aided by two helicopters, as well a bloodhound from Daggett County.

E-mail: cnorlen@desnews.com