A 44-year-old woman fell off Royal Gorge, a canyon on the Arkansas River in Colorado, falling 400 feet to her death. The woman, now identified as 44-year-old Denise McLean was standing on an observation platform on the north side of the canyon when she fell, according to Reuters.
Authorities were first notified on Monday that McLean was missing after least being seen alive near the north end of the 1,270-foot-long bridge, according to Yahoo! News.
Authorities began their search on Monday evening, but it was postponed until Tuesday morning due to dangerous conditions, NewsOxy reports.
The woman's fall from Royal Gorge is the first of its kind, and quite rare. Earlier reports and public opinion suggest that McLean committed suicide, but authorities didn't suspect that was the case. "At this time, the fall appears to be accidental with no foul play suspected," the Canon City Police Department said in a statement, according to NewsOxy. Authorities say this incident is an accident because of the skid marks left from the victim's shoe prints at the top of the cliff as she tried to avoid the fall.
Her body was later found about 400 feet below the observation point on the cliff face.
