Sgt. Spencer Cannon of the Utah County Sheriff’s Office has a few words for those who intend to hike in the county — go prepared.

At 8:58 p.m. Sunday, a call came in to Utah County Search and Rescue that there had been a hiking accident at Bridal Veil Falls.

A Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter crew worked with the search and rescue team and the North Fork Fire Department from Sundance to bring four people off Bridal Veil Falls after a 19-year-old Idaho man fell 30 feet. He sustained relatively minor injuries and will recover — but he is lucky to be alive, according to Cannon.

It took the rescue teams until 12:30 a.m. to get everyone off the side of the falls. The man was transported to a local hospital.

Photos taken at the scene of the rescue show the degree of danger the 13 SAR team members had to go through for the rescue.

Cannon said some members of the hiking group were only wearing thin-soled sandals as they scaled the falls face.

“Take time to think,” Cannon said. He noted that last year during COVID-19 lockdowns and again this summer, the search and rescue team has seen a great increase in the number of hiking rescues they have made. At least three times this year, he said, they have had to call in helicopter teams to help rescue hikers at Bridal Veil Falls.

“Search and Rescue teams all over the state have seen an increase,” Cannon said. “We have had 15 to 20 more calls (than usual).”

While the teen’s injuries are not life threatening, a 30-foot fall on rocks can be deadly, according to Cannon.

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