A young man with a promising future who had a penchant for doing things his way was found dead Thursday afternoon in the craggy rocks above Y Mountain after an exhaustive four-day search.
Searchers found 25-year-old Aaron Steven Lowe's body just before 1 p.m. at the bottom of a 300-foot cliff northeast of the painted Y overlooking Provo. Provo Police Lt. Stan Eggen said it appeared he died from a fall Sunday, the day he started a hike to celebrate graduation from Brigham Young University, acceptance to law school and the recent birth of his second child.Shortly after the discovery of Lowe's body, search-and-rescue crews in another Utah County canyon scrambled to save an 8-year-old girl who had fallen.
The girl, whose name was not released, slipped off the paved Timpanogas Cave trail in American Fork Canyon when she turned to talk to her mother, said Utah County sheriff's deputy JoAnn Murphy. She fell about 30 feet and rolled another 20, breaking her leg and bruising a lung.
The Hillsdale, Washington County, girl was in satisfactory condition Friday at American Fork Hospital, a hospital spokesman said.
The two incidents have officials calling on hikers to take extra precautions in Utah's rain-soaked canyons.
Douglas Lowe remembered his son as a person who liked to do things on his own at an early age, from tying his shoes to jumping into the family swimming pool to running across the Badlands near his Minnesota home. One of the boy's first phrases was, "I can do it my lone," his father recalled.
"I wish he were more cautious. But it made him who he is, and I appreciate that in him," Lowe told reporters as a helicopter crew prepared to bring his oldest child's body off the mountain.
David Hymas, a close friend of Lowe's, said his pal wanted to conquer Y Mountain before leaving Provo and moving on to the next phase of his life - law school at the University of Minnesota.
Lowe's wife, Jacquelyn, gave birth to the couple's first boy two weeks ago. They also have an 18-month-old daughter.
"We're grateful for that legacy," Douglas Lowe said.
BYU President Merrill J. Bateman joined Lowe's family and friends in waiting for word from searchers Thursday. After offering condolences to the family, Bateman admonished hikers to be careful.
Lowe left for a day hike on the mountain Sunday afternoon. He called his wife from a cell phone about 3 p.m. and told her he'd call again for a ride home. She reported him missing about 12:30 a.m. Monday.