An LDS missionary fell to his death Thursday afternoon while hiking in Rock Canyon with four companions.
Elder Vaikona Liufau Tuifua, 19, of Kahuku, Hawaii, slipped on some loose rock about 400 feet up on the canyon's jagged north side about 1:15 p.m. Tuifua was taking pictures from the spot.The native of Tonga was in the Missionary Training Center preparing to depart for the Michigan Detroit Mission next Monday.
A man who was taking his lunch break on the south side of a stream that runs through the canyon said he heard what he thought was a tumbling rock. He called 911 on his mobile phone when he saw it was a person.
Three of the missionaries, including Tuifua, hiked up a draw on the back side of a cliff below the rocky north face, police said. They became separated when Tuifua climbed around to the front and the other two went another direction.
The other two hikers, who were in a different area, apparently didn't know he had fallen. The Provo Police Mountain Rescue team searched below the north face for the pair as officers on the ground called their names on a loudspeaker.
Police were waiting for the two hikers in the trailhead parking lot as they walked out of the canyon about an hour later. The two broke down in tears when police told them about Tuifua.
Rock Canyon is a popular hiking and climbing area about a half-mile east of the MTC, which is adjacent to Brigham Young University. The missionaries were hiking on preparation day, a day set aside for doing laundry, personal business and other activities. LDS Church spokesman Don LeFevre said hiking in the canyon is an unapproved activity.