Ugh… this is so sad.
Colleen Burns, a 35-year-old Florida woman, is dead after accidentally falling off an edge of the Grand Canyon just minutes after posting a photo to social media during a hike with friends.
The woman was visiting Grand Canyon National Park with two friends when, on Friday afternoon, she posted the pic (above) to her Instagram account, showing her sitting on the edge of Ooh Aah Point along the Canyon’s South Kaibab Trail.
She captioned the photo:
“That view tho.”
Just minutes later, she was dead, after slipping and falling more than 400 feet. Park rangers later found her body.
According to her friend Jessica Roman, Colleen slipped while trying to move out of the path of another hiker:
“She was just, like, stepping out of the way for another gentleman to, kind of, squeeze in. Unfortunately, Colleen just kind of got tripped up on her own feet and fell backwards. She fell into the canyon. That was the longest, strangest, craziest two seconds of my life. Those last two seconds where everyone changed are so minute in comparison to all the memories I have with her.”
We honestly can’t even imagine what it’d be like to go through a situation like this, to see your friend fall helplessly before you…
Ugh.
A park spokesperson with the Coconino County Public Health Service confirmed Burns’ death came from “multiple blunt force injuries,” and indicated officials are still looking into it, having to this point ruled the tragedy an accident.
Such a sudden, sad way to go on what otherwise would have been such a fun day for three tourists visiting an incredible national park.
Our thoughts are with Colleen’s friends, family, and loved ones.