Male Hiker Dies While Hiking on North Kaibab Trail

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Date: September 22, 2014
Contact: Maureen Oltrogge, 928-638-7779

Grand Canyon, Ariz. –On Friday, September 19, at approximately 4 p.m. the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a 911 call from a visitor reporting that a male hiker had fallen and was having trouble breathing.

Park rangers responded by helicopter and found the victim approximately ½ mile below Ribbon Falls on the North Kaibab Trail within Grand Canyon National Park. A park EMT, and then two medics, were inserted and assisted with CPR that was already in progress. All efforts to resuscitate the victim were unsuccessful.

Michael Sperry, 46, of Valparaiso, Indiana had been on a rim-to-rim extended day hike with his two brothers when he collapsed. Witnesses, who began CPR, reported an immediate loss of consciousness by Mr. Sperry, from which he never recovered. CPR efforts continued for over an hour before Mr. Sperry was pronounced deceased.

Mr. Sperry's body was flown to the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park then transported to the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office in Flagstaff, Arizona where an autopsy will be completed later today.

No additional information is available at this time.

-NPS-

 



Last updated: February 24, 2015

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