BAD ENDS: The best of the worst from Over the Edge and Off the Wall
At Grand Canyon...
Lane McDaniels, 42
June 12, 1928
River Mile 4, Navajo Bridge, Marble Canyon
McDaniels, a construction worker, lost his footing on a scaffold while helping build what qualified, at the time, as the world's highest steel bridge and fell 470 feet into the Colorado River. No safety
net had been set up, due to
concerns that hot rivets might ignite it. Observers reported that McDaniels's body appeared to "burst and flatten out" on impact.
United Airlines Flight 718 (58 people aboard); TWA Flight 2 (70 people aboard)
June 30, 1956
Chuar Butte and Temple Butte
TWA's Super Constellation Flight 2 entered the airspace of United's DC-7 Flight 718 at 21,000 feet. The pilots of both aircraft had flown off course—perhaps to give passengers a good view of the Canyon. The DC-7 overtook the Super Constellation, and its left wing sliced off the Super Connie's tail. Both aircraft plunged into the canyon. There were no survivors.
Anthony Krueger, 20
March 25, 1971
Phantom Ranch beach
While camping with friends, Krueger imbibed a brew made from blossoms of the sacred datura plant, a poisonous weed with mind-altering properties. Several hours later, after trying to lift huge boulders, talking to nonexistent people, and eating dirt, he disappeared, apparently attempted to swim the Colorado River, and drowned. Five weeks later, his body was found seven miles downstream.
Trish Astolfo, 37
January 5, 1993
The Abyss, South Rim
Astolfo, reportedly inspired by repeated viewings of Thelma & Louise, tried to drive her Chevy Suburban into the Grand Canyon, but the vehicle high-centered before it cleared the rim. She then opened the door, walked to the edge, and leaped off—only to land on a rocky ledge 20 feet below. Injured but still alive, she crawled to a nearby precipice, dropped over its edge, and fell 150 feet to her death.
Donna Spangler, 59
April 11, 1993
Grandview Trail, in the Redwall below Horseshoe Mesa
Robert Merlin Spangler shoved his wife, Donna, off a cliff to avoid the inconvenience of a divorce. She fell 160 feet. After signing a confession to this and three other murders, Spangler got a life sentence and ended up dying of cancer
in prison. He requested a National Park Service permit to have his ashes spread over the Grand Canyon. U.S. District Judge Paul G. Rosenblatt ordered the NPS to deny it.
Matthew J. Garcy, 20
October 24, 1997
Cape Royal
Garcy asked a bystander to take his picture and mail a letter that was sitting on the front seat of his car. He then handed his glasses to the bystander and jumped off the North Rim, falling 400 feet to his death.
