A Roosevelt man died after he reportedly fell while climbing in the Bridal Veil Falls area of Provo Canyon.
Adrian Vanderklis, 40, was found dead late Saturday night after the Utah County Sheriff’s Office received a call just after 7 p.m. that he and his fiancee’s 9-year-old son were missing, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. The boy’s mother told police that she was able to see her son, but not Vanderklis, whom she hadn’t seen for several hours.
The boy was unharmed, Utah County Sgt. Spencer Cannon said.
“While it is unclear exactly why Mr. Vanderklis fell, it is possible he stumbled, or slipped on loose material,” the sheriff’s office said. “Regardless, it appeared he was killed immediately as a result of the fall.”
A search-and-rescue team found Vanderklis at around 7:45 p.m. Saturday on a steep, near-vertical slope. As it got darker in the area, it prevented the team from recovering his body Saturday night, the sheriff’s office said, and the recovery effort was postponed to Sunday morning.
A helicopter crew was later able to recover the man’s body, which was taken to the medical examiner’s office Sunday for an autopsy.
