March 10, 2020 - 6:43 PM
MEXICO CITY - Authorities in the northern Mexico border state of Chihuahua said Tuesday they have recovered the body of U.S. climber Nolan Smythe, who died four days ago in a fall from the El Gigante cliff face.
The civil defence office said Smythe fell nearly 1,000 feet (300 metres) after rocks broke loose from the face and cut his rope on Friday in the Basaseachi Falls National Park.
The body of the 26-year-old climber was found near the base of the cliff in a remote area in the township of Ocampo, Chihuahua, after a search with drones. The effort was made more difficult by fog in the area. The body was recovered Tuesday with the help of the Mexican Air Force and turned over to prosecutors.
Climbing Magazine said Smythe was a resident of Moab, Utah.
The office said Smythe's climbing partner, Aaron Livingston, was left dangling on a rope on the rock face after his partner's fall.
It said Livingston used a satellite phone to advise a friend hundreds of miles away, who alerted state authorities. Livingston was rescued Saturday by fellow climbers Sergio Almada and José David Martínez. It took them four hours to bring Livingston off the face.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020