On August 14th, 2021, 26-year-old Caitlyn Morris parked her white Subaru Forester SUV in a dirt parking lot at the start of the Coyote Gulch Trail in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in southern Utah.

It was in the morning.

The temperature had already risen to 86° F and was continuing to climb.

August in southern Utah is one of the hottest months of the year with daytime temperatures regularly exceeding 100°, minimal humidity, and water being the most precious resource.

Caitlyn was an experienced solo hiker.

She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and worked as a graphic designer for a small marketing company, but her real passion was hiking.

Over the past four years, she had walked hundreds of miles on desert trails in Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico.

She preferred to hike alone, telling her friends that she felt a stronger connection to nature when she was by herself, that she could think, meditate, and be herself without having to keep up a conversation or adjust to someone else’s pace.

Her parents, who lived in the suburbs of Phoenix, were worried.

Her mother, Linda Morris, often said that solo hiking was dangerous, especially for a young woman, especially in remote places like Escalante.

But Caitlyn was always careful.

She planned her roots in advance, studied maps, took enough water and food, had a satellite transmitter for emergency communication, and left a detailed route plan with friends and family.

There were never any problems.

She always returned on time, tanned, happy with hundreds of photos of red rocks, arches, and canyons.

The Coyote Gulch route is one of the most popular in the region, but it is still quite isolated.

The trail, about 12 mi long one way, leads through a narrow canyon with high sandstone walls, past natural arches, water holes, and picturesque formations.

Most tourists complete the route in two to three days, stopping overnight in the canyon.

Caitlyn planned three days.

One day to descend into the canyon with a stop at Jacob Hamlin Arch, one night there, the second day to explore the far end of the canyon.

The second night somewhere else, and the third day to return to the car.

She sent her last text message to her friend Emily Jiang at p.m.

on August 14th.

The message read, “Found a great spot by the arch.

Staying here for the night.

The view is incredible.

Almost no signal.

See you on Monday.” Monday was August 16th, the day Caitlyn planned to return.

Emily replied, “Great.

Take care.

Looking forward to the photos.” The message was delivered but not read.

After that, contact with Caitlyn was lost.

On August 16th, Caitlyn did not return.

Emily called her several times during the day, but there was no answer.

Either the phone was turned off or out of range.

By evening, Emily began to worry and contacted Caitlyn’s parents.

Linda said she couldn’t reach her daughter either.

They decided to wait until morning.

Perhaps Caitlyn had been delayed on her trip, decided to spend an extra day, or her phone battery had died.

On the morning of August 17th, Caitlyn still hadn’t been in touch.

Her father, Robert Morris, called the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, which is responsible for the Escalante National Monument area.

He reported that his daughter had not returned from her hike, and asked them to check the parking lot at the trail head.

The deputy sheriff went there around noon.

He found Caitlyn’s Subaru parked where she had left it.

The car was locked, and the keys were probably with Caitlyn.

There were no signs of forced entry, damage, or anything suspicious.

Just a car sitting in a parking lot waiting for its owner.

The deputy sheriff called the Garfield County Search and Rescue Team.

A team of eight volunteers, including experienced trackers and medics, arrived by p.m.

They began descending the trail.

Again, the trail is well marked for the first few miles, but further into the canyon, it becomes less obvious with many side branches, dry rivereds, and rock formations where it is easy to lose your way.

The searchers walked about 6 miles to Jacob Hamlin Arch, where Caitlyn had said she planned to stop for the first night.

They found sneaker prints in the sand at the bottom of the canyon, fresh, judging by the lack of wind erosion made in the last few days.

The size matched.

Women’s sneakers, size seven, the same size Caitlyn wore according to her parents.

The tracks led deep into the canyon along the bed of a dry stream, then disappeared on sections of solid rock.

The group stopped for the night at the arch and continued their search at dawn on August 18th.

They expanded the perimeter, checked side canyons, caves, and rock niches.

They called out names, listening for a response or a whistle.

Caitlyn had an emergency whistle.

Standard tourist equipment.

Silence.

Only the wind, the cawing of crows, the rustling of sand.

By the evening of August 18th, additional resources had joined the search.

The sheriff’s office requested assistance from the National Park Service, which sent a helicopter to conduct an aerial search.

The helicopter flew over an area within a 15-mi radius of Caitlyn’s last known location with the pilots using binoculars and thermal imaging cameras to detect a person or body.

Nothing.

Red rocks, narrow canyons, thickets of shrubs, but no sign of a human being.

The search continued for another 9 days.

The number of volunteers increased to 40.

local residents, tourists, and Caitlyn’s friends who had flown in from Arizona.

They divided into groups and systematically combed the area.

They checked every cave, every crevice, every spot where Caitlyn could have fallen, gotten stuck, or hidden from the sun.

They used tracking dogs, which picked up the scent from Caitlyn’s clothes provided by her parents, and tried to trace her route.

The dogs found several points where they picked up the scent, all within 2 mi of Jacob Hamlin Arch along the main channel of the canyon.

But the trail broke off, the dogs lost direction and began to circle.

This could mean that Caitlyn had walked on solid rock where no scent remains, or that her scent had been washed away by the rare but heavy summer rain that fell on the night of August 15th.

According to weather station reports, on August 26th, 12 days after her disappearance, the active search was suspended.

The search and rescue coordinator, a man named David Porter, with 20 years of experience working in desert conditions, held a press conference.

He explained that the search team had surveyed more than 30 square miles of territory and checked all accessible areas within a reasonable distance from Caitlyn’s route.

They found no backpack, tent, sleeping bag, clothing, personal belongings, nothing that belonged to her except for traces of sneakers.

Porter expressed the opinion that the most likely scenario was that Caitlyn had strayed from the main route, possibly in search of a more picturesque place for photography or exploration, and ended up in a difficult to reach area where she fell, was injured, and was unable to call for help or move.

Temperatures in August were extreme, up to 104° Fahrenheit in the shade during the day and even hotter in the canyons due to the sun reflecting off the rocks.

Without enough water, a person can die of dehydration in a day or two.

Her body could have been in a narrow crevice in a cave under a fallen rock in a place inaccessible from the surface.

The case was classified as a missing person under suspicious circumstances.

There was no evidence of foul play, but there was also no evidence of an accident, just a disappearance.

Caitlyn’s parents refused to accept that their daughter was dead.

They organized their own search, hired private trackers, and offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the discovery of Caitlyn, dead or alive.

They put up posters in nearby towns, Escalante, Boulder, Canab.

They created a page on social media where they posted updates, asked for help, and shared photos of their daughter.

Months passed.

September, October, November.

Temperatures dropped, and the tourist season ended.

The Escalante area became almost deserted.

The sheriff’s office periodically sent patrols to check remote areas, but without new leads, the search was pointless.

The area was too vast.

More than a thousand square miles of rugged desert terrain with canyons, cliffs, and caves that had not been touched by human feet for decades.

On December 7th, 2021, an event occurred that changed the investigation.

On Highway UT12, about 25 mi northeast of the start of the Coyote Gulch Trail, a truck driver hit a coyote.

The animal ran out onto the road suddenly around in the evening in the dark and the driver did not have time to break.

The coyote died instantly from the impact.

The driver stopped and checked the animal.

It was dead.

Under Utah state law, the driver is required to report collisions with large animals.

He called the highway patrol and reported the incident.

The patrol officer arrived, filed a report, and took the coyote carcass away for disposal.

But instead of simply disposing of the body, as was usually done, he took it to a local veterinary clinic in the city of Escalante.

The reason was that in recent months, there had been cases of rabies among wild animals in the region, and the health department had requested that all roadkill predators be tested for the virus.

A veterinarian named Dr.

Sarah Collins performed an autopsy on the animal the next day.

The coyote was an adult male about four years old, weighing 35 lb and generally healthy until the time of death.

The rabies test was negative.

But when Dr.

Collins opened the coyote’s stomach, she found something unusual.

Inside the stomach, among the partially digested remains of meat and bones of small animals, probably rabbits or rodents, were three clumps of hair.

Human hair, light, long, about 10 in each clump.

The hair was tangled, mixed with gastric juice, but recognizable, not animal fur, not plant fibers, human hair.

Dr.

Collins immediately contacted the sheriff’s office.

The deputy sheriff arrived and took the hair samples.

He sent them to the Utah State Crime Lab in Salt Lake City for analysis.

The lab conducted microscopic examination and analysis of the genetic material.

The results came back in 2 weeks.

The hair belonged to a woman of European descent between the ages of 20 and 30.

The genetic material analysis was compared to a sample obtained from Caitlyn Morris’s parents.

They had submitted their samples to the missing person’s database in September.

The match was a 99.9% probability that the hair belonged to Caitlyn Morris.

Detectives immediately reopen the investigation.

The coyote was found on UT12 highway about 25 mi from Caitlyn’s last known location.

Coyotes typically travel within a 5 to 10 mile radius of their territory, but may venture further in search of food, especially during the winter months when prey becomes scarce.

If a coyote ate parts of Caitlyn’s body, where did it happen? Detectives consulted with a wildlife biologist working in the region, a man named Dr.

Thomas Nelson, who specializes in predator behavior in desert ecosystems.

He explained that coyotes are scavengers feeding on dead animals they find.

If Caitlyn died in the desert, her body would have attracted predators.

Coyotes, ravens, vultures.

Coyotes do not kill healthy adults, but they will feed on a corpse without hesitation.

Dr.

Nelson suggested searching the area within a 20m radius of the point where the coyote was hit, focusing on places where coyotes typically set up dens and food caches.

Coyotes sometimes drag parts of their prey long distances to feed their young or build up reserves.

If parts of Caitlyn’s body had been moved, they could have ended up in a den or cash.

On December 22nd, a group of six people, three detectives, Dr.

Nelson, and two experienced trackers, began a systematic search.

Dr.

Nelson identified seven possible coyote dens within a 20-m radius based on topography, water availability, and shelter.

The group checked each location, looking for signs of coyote activity, tracks, droppings, and prey remains.

On December 27th, at the third location they checked, the group found something significant.

The location was in a narrow side canyon about 18 mi north of the Coyote Gulch Trail off the beaten path.

The canyon was shallow, about 50 ft from rim to bottom with steep sandstone walls.

A small stream flowed at the bottom of the canyon in spring and fall, but dried up completely in summer.

At the base of one of the walls was a shallow cave, more of a niche about 10 ft deep, 15 ft wide, and 5 ft high.

Inside the niche, a tracker named Jason Reed noticed scraps of fabric.

He moved closer and shown his flashlight on them.

The fabric was blue, torn, and partially covered with sand.

Nearby were fragments of something orange.

Even closer were white objects partially buried.

bones.

The group stopped and called the forensic team.

The area was cordoned off and a thorough collection of evidence began.

The forensic team worked for 2 days carefully extracting each item, photographing, labeling, and packaging it.

They found the following scraps of blue nylon fabric which matched the texture and color of hiking backpacks.

Fragments of orange plastic similar to the body of an electronic device.

pieces of dark green fabric, probably from a tent or sleeping bag.

Pieces of rubber soles from hiking sneakers and bones, human bones.

The remains were incomplete, scattered over an area of about 20 ft.

The medical examiner counted fragments of 30 to 40 bones, ribs, vertebrae, limb bones, parts of the pelvis, and fragments of the skull.

Many of the bones had marks, scratches, and grooves characteristic of predator teeth.

Coyotes, vultures, and possibly other animals had fed on the body and dragged away parts of it.

The skull was in the worst condition, shattered into several fragments.

But it was preserved enough for the medical examiner to conduct a preliminary analysis.

He found cracks that were incompatible with the actions of animals.

Linear fractures originating from a single point on the left side of the skull just above the ear.

Such fractures are characteristic of an impact with a hard surface or a fall from a height.

The pelvis also had a fracture, a horizontal crack across the left pelvic bone.

Such injuries usually occur when a person falls from a height and lands on their side.

The remains and evidence were sent to the laboratory.

Analysis of genetic material from bone tissue confirmed that the remains belonged to Caitlyn Morris.

The orange plastic fragments turned out to be parts of a spot satellite transmitter that Caitlyn had taken with her.

The device was badly damaged.

The casing was crushed and the internal components were shattered, probably by animals trying to gnaw through the plastic.

The medical examiner conducted a complete examination of the remains.

He determined that Caitlyn died from injuries sustained in a fall.

Fractures of the skull and pelvis indicated a significant impact.

Death was almost instantaneous or occurred within minutes from intraanial hemorrhage.

Detectives reconstructed the events.

Caitlyn was walking along the trail on August 14th, reached Jacob Hamlin Arch, and stopped for the night as planned.

On August 15th, she continued her route, exploring side canyons, probably in search of more secluded and picturesque places to take photos.

She deviated from the main route and entered a narrow side canyon.
In the canyon, possibly trying to climb to the edge for a better view or descending a steep section, she slipped or stumbled.

The sandstone in those areas is fragile, and the surface is often covered with a thin layer of sand, which makes it slippery.

She fell from a height of about 30 to 40 ft and hit the rocks at the bottom of the canyon.

She suffered fatal injuries to her head and pelvis.

Her body remained at the bottom of the canyon.

The place was so remote that no one had passed through there for months, possibly years.

The satellite transmitter, which should have sent a distress signal, was damaged in the fall or did not work due to its poor location.

Deep canyons block satellite signals.

She probably had her cell phone with her, but there is no cell service in that area.

She sent her last message on August 14th from the arch where communication was still available thanks to the open sky and altitude.

When she descended deeper into the canyons, the connection was completely lost.

In the August heat, the body began to decompose.

But in the desert conditions of Utah with low humidity and high temperatures, decomposition can be rapid in the early stages, then slow down as the body mummifies.

However, animals found it quickly.

Vultures patrolling the desert sky discovered the carcass within a day or two.

Coyotes, attracted by the smell or activity of the vultures, followed.

Within weeks, the body was almost completely eaten.

Coyotes being social animals probably came in a pack, several individuals.

They dragged away parts, meat, organs, bones.

Some parts were eaten on the spot.

Others were taken to dens for their young or hidden in cashes for the future.

This explained why the remains were incomplete and scattered.

One of the coyotes, probably the same one that was hit on the highway in December, ate a significant amount of soft tissue, including hair.

Hair is not completely digested, remaining in the stomach as indigestible material, sometimes passing with feces, sometimes remaining inside until the animals death.

Why didn’t anyone find the body earlier? The side canyon where Caitlyn fell was off the beaten track in an area that search parties did not check in detail.

The area is too vast with thousands of such canyons and it is physically impossible to check each one.

In addition, after the animals had dragged away the remains, there were no large visually noticeable objects left.

The backpack, tent, and clothing were torn and scattered, and the bones were partially buried in sand.

It was virtually impossible to notice anything from the height of a helicopter or even from the edge of the canyon.

Caitlyn’s parents were notified of the discovery.

Linda and Robert Morris flew to Utah, met with detectives, and received a detailed report.

Linda cried, but also expressed relief.

Finally, they knew what had happened to their daughter, where she was, and could bury her.

Robert asked if it was possible that someone had killed Caitlyn and thrown her off the cliff.

The detectives explained that all the evidence pointed to an accident.

There were no signs of a struggle, no traces of other people in the area, and the fractures were consistent with a fall, not violence.

But there was one detail that bothered the detectives.

The satellite transmitter was crushed.

The device was durable, made for extreme conditions, falls, and impacts.

Could it have been damaged so badly by a fall from 30 ft? A forensic scientist conducted tests dropping a similar device onto rocks from different heights.

He found that this level of damage would require either a fall from a height of more than 50 ft directly onto solid rock or deliberate destruction blows with a heavy object.

However, it is also possible that coyotes or other animals gnawed on the device trying to get to components that might smell interesting.

Plastic, metal, rubber.

Marks on the case showed scratches similar to teeth.

It was impossible to determine definitively whether the device was damaged by the fall or by animals.

Detectives also checked to see if there were other people in the area at the time.

They interviewed all tourists registered on the Escalante trails in mid August 2021.

The permit system requires tourists to register before entering certain trails.

Between August 13 and 17, 12 groups of tourists registered on the Coyote Gulch Trail.

All were interviewed.

All had alibis, and none had seen Caitlyn after August 14th.

One hiker, a man named Brian Lee, reported seeing a woman matching Caitlyn’s description on the morning of August 15th around a.m.

at Jacob Hamlin Arch.

She was sitting on a rock, drinking water, looking at the arch.

Brian said hello.

She nodded and smiled but did not engage in conversation.

He continued on his way and that was the last sighting.

Brian headed east on the main trail while Caitlyn probably went in the opposite direction exploring the side canyons.

Was there a possibility of foul play? Detectives considered the possibility that someone could have attacked Caitlyn, killed her, and staged an accident.

But there was no evidence, no witnesses, no motive, no suspects.

Caitlyn had no enemies, was not involved in any conflicts, debts, or criminal activity.

Her personal life was lonely.

She had not been in a relationship for the past 2 years, and her parents and friends did not know of anyone who might wish her harm.

Her finances, social media, and correspondence were checked.

Nothing suspicious.

the normal life of a young woman who worked in an office and enjoyed hiking, photography, and reading.

Her last social media posts were photos from previous hikes, plans for an August trip, and excitement about the upcoming trip.

The final conclusion of the investigation was that Caitlyn Morris’s death was classified as an accident.

She fell from a cliff in a remote side canyon of Escalante National Monument, suffered fatal injuries, and died on the spot.

The body was found and partially eaten by wild animals, which is normal in a desert ecosystem.

Caitlyn’s remains were returned to her family in January 2022.

The funeral was held in Phoenix and attended by her parents, relatives, friends, and colleagues.

She was cremated and her ashes were scattered in the Arizona desert in a place she loved, Saguarro National Park, where she often went hiking.

The story received widespread media coverage.

News channels reported on how hair found in a coyote’s stomach led to the discovery of the missing hiker’s body.

A documentary program on the Outdoor Channel devoted a 30inute episode to the case, discussing the dangers of solo hiking and the importance of safety in desert conditions.

Hiking safety experts used Caitlyn’s case as an example of what can go wrong, even for experienced hikers.

They reminded people of the importance of reporting their exact route, not straying from the trails unless absolutely necessary, always having a reliable means of communication, and not hiking alone in the most remote areas.

Caitlyn’s parents established a memorial fund in her name, which funds hiking safety education programs for young people, especially women.

They also donated money to improve search and rescue equipment in Garfield County so that future searches could be more effective.

Escalante National Monument remains a popular hiking destination.

Every year, thousands of tourists walk the Coyote Gulch Trail, photograph Jacob Hamlin Arch, and enjoy the beauty of the red rocks and narrow canyons.

Most return safely, but several times a year, someone gets lost, injured, or dies in this harsh, beautiful, and unforgiving desert.

Caitlyn’s case raises questions that remain unanswered.

Could she have been saved if the search party had looked in the right place from the start? Perhaps.

But how do you know where to look when the area is the size of a small country? Should she not have gone alone? Many people think so.

But Caitlyn was experienced, cautious, and loved the solitude of nature.

Did she have the right to make that choice, even knowing the risks? Most would agree that yes, everyone has the right to choose their own path, take risks, and live as they see fit.

Sometimes that path leads to beautiful places, sometimes to dangerous ones, sometimes back home, sometimes not.

Caitlyn Morris chose her path and it led her to a narrow side canyon in the heart of the Utah desert where she met her end among the red rocks under the endless blue sky alone as she preferred.

Her story is a reminder of the fragility of life, the power of nature, and how even the most careful plans can end in tragedy in a single unfortunate moment on a slippery