A strange and sad story from Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park has many people scratching their heads. Two people died after apparently falling from a viewing area. AP News and the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office report that the victims must have crossed the barrier, but no other details are known about how they fell, including why they had a cat with them when the incident occurred. Miraculously, the cat survived the 380-foot fall into Bryce Canyon.
[RELATED: Heartwarming Rescue: Dog Fell Into Canyon and Survived]
Other tourists first spotted the bodies, which park officials air lifted from below Inspiration Point earlier this week. The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as Matthew Nannen, 45, and Bailee Crane, 58, from Florida. The two had been living out of a U-Haul van with their cat, which was in a soft-sided carrier when the three fell from the lookout point.
A pet rescue center has named the cat “Mirage,” and staff estimate she is about 12 years old. The sanctuary also said she was “matted and a bit sore” but “seemed to have weathered the fall fairly well.”
Meet Mirage, the cat who survived the fall in Bryce Canyon:
Header image by Nico De Pasquale Photography