9-year-old walks down mountain alone after climber plunges to his death, Utah cops say

A 9-year-old boy went climbing with his mom’s fiance in a Utah canyon.

He returned alone and in tears, police said.

The boy’s mom had reported her fiance and son missing Saturday, near Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said.

“The woman reported that she could see her son, who was crying, but that she could not see her fiance, and that she hadn’t seen him for ‘several hours,’” the sheriff’s office said.

A search and rescue team and helicopter crew searched for the woman’s fiance and found him dead on a slope thousands of feet up. He was identified as 40-year-old Adrian Vanderklis.

The boy found his way back down on his own and did not see Vanderklis fall to his death, officials said.

“Team members found Mr. Vanderklis about 7:45 p.m. on a very steep, near vertical, slope about 1/3 of a mile west of Bridal Veil Falls at an elevation of about 5,800 feet,” the sheriff’s office said. “A team of SAR volunteers made their way to the victim and determined he apparently fell and did not survive his injuries.”

Search and rescue volunteers weren’t able to retrieve the body until the next morning because it was too dark, officials said. In the morning, they hoisted his body off the cliff and took it to the medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.

Bridal Veil Falls is a natural waterfall in Provo Canyon. It’s accessible by a 1.4-mile out-and-back trail. The 28-mile Provo Canyon Scenic Byway connects to the falls.