Man ends up jammed between rock walls of narrow slot canyon, Utah rescuers say

A man found wedged between the narrow rock walls of a slot canyon after dark had to be rescued with a high-angle rope system, Utah sheriff’s officials report.

Authorities received an alert at 10:30 p.m. Monday, July 15, notifying them three people needed help at Zero Gravity Canyon, the Emery County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Volunteer rescuers, many in bed for the night, responded and found a man jammed between the canyon walls, officials said.

A high-angle rope rescue was used to retrieve the man from the narrow canyon, with rescuers below to help pry him loose, officials said.

Two other people with the man also were rescued. Sheriff’s officials did not say what the three people were doing in the slot canyon at night. None were seriously hurt.

“These guys are here to serve in the purest sense of the word and we are lucky to have them,” Sheriff Tyson Huntington said in the release about the office’s search and rescue team.

Emery County is about a 165-mile drive southeast from Salt Lake City.

This story was originally published July 17, 2024 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Man ends up jammed between rock walls of narrow slot canyon, Utah rescuers say."