Hiker whose phone recorded her being swept away found dead below Utah waterfall

Hikers called law enforcement after they found a small dog with the woman’s personal belongings near fast-moving water

A Utah hiker whose phone was found with a video of her being swept away by rushing waters has been found dead at the foot of a waterfall, according to the Utah County Sheriff's Office.

The sheriff said in a statement that a pair of hikers were walking in the area near Horsetail Falls — about 35 miles south of Salt Lake City — and found a “small dog with a cell phone and some personal items” that they found suspicious. At around 3 p.m. on Friday, the hikers called for emergency responders, fearing that “someone might have fallen into the water of Dry Creek and could be in trouble.”

One of the hikers reportedly found a video on the phone that showed a young woman standing near the water when the current grabbed her and swept her away, according to authorities.

Law enforcement and rescue workers responded to the site and, using a helicopter from the Utah Department of Public Safety, managed to find the woman’s remains “stuck under some trees in the water about 100 yards below Horsetail Falls” shortly after 5 p.m. the same day.

The woman who died was identified as Cynthia Ann Grimwood, 19, of Springville, Utah.

Cynthia Ann Grimwood, 19, was killed on 8 June when she was swept over Horsetail Falls in Utah after she was carried away by the current in Dry Creek (Facebook/Cynthia Ann Grimwood)

AllTrails, an app used by hikers, rates the 4.2-mile trail Grimwood was hiking as “hard” and sheriff’s officials believe she may have entered the water to cool off after her trek.

The sheriff's office said the area was “full with heavy snow melt runoff” and “conditions were treacherous.”

Rescue crews were forced to overcome steep rock walls to access the spot where Grimwood's body came to rest. Because it was already late in the day when Grimwood’s remains were located, the sheriff's office decided it would be safer to remove her body the following day.

Volunteers with Utah Search and Rescue stayed overnight near the site to monitor for “any change in the situation,” according to officials.

The following day, rescue workers recovered Grimwood’s body, which was then take to a medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.

Rescue workers in Utah County, Utah, at Horsetail Falls, where the body of Cynthia Ann Grimwood, 19, was located after she was swept away above the falls on 8 June, 2024 (screengrab/KSL News)

“On behalf of all who were involved in the search for and recovery of Cynthia we express deep condolences to her family at her loss,” the sheriff said in a statement.

The same day Grimwood was recovered, a 9-year-old boy from Arizona fell into the Provo River near Bridal Veil Falls, approximately 45 miles south of Salt Lake City and 21 miles from Horsetail Falls.

The boy was recovered rom the water after an hour-long search and was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

In a daring rescue attempt, a firefighter from Orem leapt into the water and grabbed the boy while he was holding onto a rope. The swift current pulled him against the rope, which “burned through [his] hands,” and he was not able to hold on, according to the sheriff's office. A second firefighter threw another rope, which the firefighter managed to grab. He managed to return to the shore with the boy, but it was too late to save the child.