Cynthia Ann Grimwood, Springville, Utah hiker inadvertently records her own death after being swept away by river along Horsetail Falls in Alpine.
A 19 year old hiker who drowned while trekking Utah waterways is reported to have inadvertently filmed her own death after she set up her cellphone to record moments before being swept away by a current.
Cynthia Ann Grimwood of Springville went hiking with her dog around 3 pm on Friday afternoon at Horsetail Falls in Alpine, and was swept away in the fast moving current after falling into the swollen river.
Two hikers, who found Cynthia’s belongings and dog, were concerned that someone may have fallen into the water of Dry Creek and could be in trouble and called the sheriff’s office.
Horsetail Falls trail ranked as hard
A review of video on the teen’s cell phone, showed Grimwood near the water before she was carried out by the heavy water flow, Utah County Sheriff Sgt. Spencer Cannon told KSL.com.
Cynthia’s body was recovered about 100 yards below Horsetail Falls stuck under some trees and submerged in the water.
AllTrails, an app used by hikers, rates the 4.2-mile trail Grimwood was hiking as ‘hard’ and sheriff’s officials believe she may have entered the water to cool off after her trek.
Multiple search and rescue crews were involved in locating the teen’s remains. On Saturday, her body was recovered before her identity was confirmed on Monday.
Treacherous conditions
Deputies said the area where they found her body was full with heavy snow melt runoff and conditions were treacherous.
The water level was ‘abnormally high’ and moving fast, with officials calling the young woman’s death a ‘tragic accident.’
Officials said the stream was swollen with runoff water near Horsetail Falls in the mountains above Alpine in Utah County during Cynthia’s fateful hike. Horsetail Falls is approximately 35 miles away south of Salt Lake City.
An autopsy has yet to determine the cause of death.
The blue-eyed, brown-haired teen was a talented athlete, who had played second base, third base and short stop on the Springville High School softball team.
