Suburban Kansas City teen fell to his death while hiking, taking photos at Utah canyon
A teenager from Blue Springs died Saturday while hiking and taking photographs with friends at a canyon overlook in Utah, according to area news reports.
Jonathan Fielding, 19, fell at about 5 p.m. after stopping to take a photo at the Moonscape Overlook near Hanksville, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office told news station KUTV. Authorities determined his death was accidental.
An online obituary says Fielding graduated from Blue Springs High School. He was an Eagle Scout with Troop 246 of the Boy Scouts of America and active in the community of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Fielding had been living in Orem, Utah, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City, according to the obituary.
In a public Facebook post, Rebecca Fielding, his sister, said the family learned of his sudden death through a roommate of her brother’s in Utah. She called his death “a tragic accident” as well as “a cautionary tale to anyone who hikes or does photography.”
“All it takes is one wrong step to dislodge rocks, one moment of unbalance, a trip over a rock, and you can plummet to your death,” she wrote, adding: “There was no reason for my brother to die. Please don’t make the same mistakes he did.”
As of Thursday afternoon, a GoFundMe online fundraiser to assist with the family’s financial expenses had received a little more than $26,000 in donations.
Services were held in Utah this week. A viewing was to be held at the Independence Stake Center from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. Friday followed by a funeral service at 10 a.m. Saturday.
