ST. GEORGE — Following notification on Wednesday of both a missing hiker in Zion National Park and a reported fall from the Angels Landing trail, park officials announced Thursday that the body of the missing hiker had been found. On Friday morning, park officials released the name of the hiker as 19-year-old Savannah McTague.
According to a press release from the park, McTague is from Maine and was a Xanterra concession employee working at the Zion Lodge.
McTague was hiking with two colleagues late afternoon on Wednesday in the Angels Landing area, and at approximately 5:30 p.m., Zion National Park was notified by the colleagues that she was missing and that they suspected she had fallen.
Park officials contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office around 7:40 p.m. seeking aid after another report of someone falling from the Angels Landing Trail, according to a Facebook post from the Sheriff’s Office. However, at the time of the report, park officials could not confirm if the two incidents were related.
Search and rescue teams started the search for McTague on Thursday morning, finding a body that matched her gender and age. The injuries sustained were consistent with a high-elevation fall.
A joint investigation with Zion and the Washington County Sheriffs department is still underway; however, the identity of the fallen hiker has been released following McTague’s family being notified.
“Our deepest condolences go out to the McTague family and friends,” Zion National Park Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh said in the press release. “Savannah was part of the Zion family. This fatality has been especially hard on Zion Lodge and park staff.”
Updated Nov. 22 at 10:30 a.m. to include identity of the victim.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.