College Student Falls 400 Feet to His Death at Grand Canyon: 'His Absence Will Be Deeply Felt'

The National Park Service said Abel Joseph Mejia, 20, was near the edge of the rim when he "suffered an accidental fall"

A college student from North Carolina is dead after accidentally falling to his death in the Grand Canyon, according to officials.

The National Park Service (NPS) announced in a news release that the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report of a visitor who fell from the rim near the Pipe Creek Overlook in the Grand Canyon on Wednesday, July 31, at around 10:40 a.m local time.

The visitor was identified by the NPS as 20-year-old Abel Joseph Mejia of Hickory, North Carolina. The NPS said that Mejia’s body was “located” about “400 ft. below the rim.”

Alongside the news release, the NPS shared a photo of four park responders managing “a high angle technical rescue system” near the rim where Mejia appeared to have fallen.

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“Mr. Mejia was near the edge of the rim when he suffered an accidental fall,” the NPS said in their statement. “An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office.”

Following the news of his death, Indiana Bible College paid tribute to Meija, who had been one of its students, on Facebook. The school said that he was known for his “warm smile and gentle spirit” and said “his absence will be deeply felt by all who knew him.”

“Let us all join together in prayer for the entire Mejia family during this difficult time. May God bring comfort and peace to all who are grieving,” the college wrote alongside photos of what appeared to be Mejia speaking in church.

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Turning Point Pentecostal Church shared on social media that the 20-year-old had been on a “missions trip” when the “accident” happened.

National Park Service data showed that falls were one of the “top three leading causes of unintentional deaths in parks” between 2014-2019. Between those five years, there were 205 fatal falls across National Park Service parks.

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Grand Canyon National Park is especially a popular park, with over 4.7 million visitors in 2023, according to the NPS.

The NPS issued a warning for visitors in Grand Canyon National Park to stay “on designated trails and walkways” and keep a “safe distance of at least six feet from the edge of the rim” for their safety, in a news release about Mejia’s fall. They also encouraged visitors to stay “behind railings and fences at overlooks.”

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