An 8-year-old girl died Sunday morning after falling into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, a popular attraction in Yellowstone National Park. In an unrelated incident, the body of a concessions worker who died while floating the Yellowstone River was recovered Saturday.
The girl, Zahra Allahyari, and family members were following a trail to the Brink of the Lower Falls observation platform when she fell 550 feet into the canyon, according to a statement released by the park’s public affairs office.
According to information released by the National Park Service, Allahyari was from Poway, a Southern California community near San Diego. She stepped off the trail and lost her footing. The incident remains under investigation.
Park workers retrieved the Allahyari’s body around noon Sunday.
In an unrelated incident, the body of a young man missing in Yellowstone National Park since Aug. 11 has been recovered.
Darien Latty, 22, died after a river trip last week in Yellowstone. Latty’s body was retrieved Saturday.
Latty had gone tubing one week ago with friends on the Lamar River near Tower Junction.
Shortly after reaching the point where the Lamar River flows into the Yellowstone River, his two companions managed to get to the river’s edge and get out of the fast-moving water. Latty was last seen being swept downstream, separated from his inner tube, and without a life jacket.
At one point, more than 50 people were searching for Latty, including a helicopter, three dog teams, and several groups of searchers on foot.
Late Friday searchers spotted what they thought was a submerged body pinned to a large rock in a very steep and dangerous section of the Yellowstone River, about 1/4-mile downstream from where Latty was last seen.
A swiftwater rescue team from Gallatin County, Montana, was called in Saturday to navigate the river. Using kayaks and a raft anchored to both banks of the river, they were able to recover Latty’s body Saturday afternoon. A helicopter was used to remove his body from the remote area.
The coroner made a positive identification Saturday evening.
Latty, who was from the northeastern Georgia community of Demorest, was in Yellowstone working as a summer seasonal employee at Roosevelt Lodge. An autopsy will be conducted to confirm the cause of death.
Floating the river is prohibited by park regulations.