PROVO CANYON — A Chinese foreign exchange student and a member of his host family died in separate falls at Bridal Veil Falls on Saturday, police said.
Kedi Chen, 14, was found dead after officers arrived at the scene Saturday evening. Hikers found Chen and called police at approximately 6:45 p.m., according to Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Cannon.
Police at that time also reported that 28-year-old Brandon Reas, of Springville, was missing. Reas' body was found about 7:45 a.m. Sunday, police said.
Chen was a foreign exchange student from China and had been living in Nara, Japan. He arrived in Utah on Saturday and planned to be in Springville just a few days as part of the short-term exchange program, police said.
Reas and his family were hosting Chen, according to police.
The path to the base of Bridal Veil Falls is an easy hike and popular tourist attraction in Provo Canyon, according to Cannon.
"It does have some risks, but those risks are maybe a twisted ankle or scrapes and bruises, at worst a broken bone," Cannon said. "Typically, this kind of outcome is not common, if it has ever happened at all."
But Cannon said climbing above the base of the falls can become quite technical and difficult.
"It can be done without training and equipment, but it's certainly not recommended," he said.
Reas and Chen appeared to have fallen separately, according to police.
Based on where their bodies were found, Reas appears to have fallen from somewhere above the first level above the basin on the east side of the falls, Cannon said. Chen is believed to have fallen on the west side of the falls from a lower height.
The last communication from either of the two came at 4:40 p.m., when Reas texted a picture of him and Chen at the falls to his wife, and again at 5:30 p.m. when it began getting dark, according to police.
Contributing: Brady Bingham, Heather McShane
Email: dchen@deseretnews.com
Twitter: DaphneChen_