Couple took cat to Utah beauty spot and ignored warning signs... and only one came back
A Florida couple took their elderly cat with them on a hike in Utah, but after ignoring warning signs only one of them made it out alive.
The bodies of Matthew Nannen, 45, and Bailee Crane, 58, were discovered Tuesday by park visitors in Bryce Canyon National Park after they fell about 380ft below Inspiration Point, according to the Garfield County Sheriff's Office.
The couple, who appeared to be living out of a U-Haul truck, are believed to have fallen to their deaths on either Monday night or early Tuesday morning, police said.
Although there was a railing at the top of the cliff, police said Nannen and Crane climbed over it. There was also snow in the area that made for slippery conditions.
When their bodies were located, authorities also found a female tabby cat inside a ripped and dirty black soft-sided carrier, the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary said.
The cat, who has since been named Mirage, appeared to have fallen with her owners but 'seemed to have weathered the fall fairly well,' the no-kill shelter told the outlet.
When Mirage was brought to the shelter, she was 'matted and a bit sore,' but during her examination she was very friendly.
Judah Battista, the chief sanctuary officer with the shelter, told DailyMail.com Mirage suffered two fractured canines and two fractured ribs from the fall.
A Florida couple, Matthew Nannen, 45, and Bailee Crane, 58, tragically died after falling off Inspiration Point at Bryce Canyon National Park with their elderly tabby cat (pictured)
Although there was a railing at the top of the cliff, police said Nannen and Crane climbed over it. There was also snow in the area that made for slippery conditions. (Pictured: File photo of Bryce Canyon National Park)
Right now, the team there is focused on 'getting her well and providing a safe and loving space for Mirage.'
When asked if they would put her up for adoption down the road, Battista said the shelter plans to see if any of the couple's extended family would like to take her in first. If not, they plan to have her adopted.
Video and images shared by the shelter showed several employees taking great care of Mirage and nursing her back to health.
Battista said they have taken animals in before that have been a part of horrible incidents, but the shelter has never seen anything 'quite as dramatic as this.'
Nannen and Crane had just made their way to Utah from Arizona and are permanent residents of Florida, authorities said.
The exact cause of the incident remains under investigation.
'Detectives are considering all possibilities, but preliminary investigations have not been able to definitively determine the cause of the fall,' the sheriff's office told KUTV.
DailyMail.com contacted the Garfield County Sheriff's Office and Bryce Canyon National Park for more information.
Judah Battista, the chief sanctuary officer with the shelter, told DailyMail.com Mirage (pictured) suffered two fractured canines and two fractured ribs from the fall
When their bodies were located, authorities also found the female tabby cat inside a ripped and dirty black soft-sided carrier (pictured)
Inspiration Point is known to give spectators a 'birds-eye view of the world's largest collection of rock spires called "hoodoos" found within the Bryce Amphitheater,' according to the national park.
News of this tragedy comes just months after a beloved and heavily-pregnant California school teacher died after falling while on a hiking trip in Greece.
Clara Thomann, 33, had been traveling through Plakias, Crete, with her partner Elliott Finn when she fell during a hike and died on December 23.
Thomann, from Santa Barbara, was six months pregnant at the time, according to SFGate. She was also a teacher at the Dos Pueblos High School.
According to The Greek Reporter, she had slipped and tumbled 50 meters down a gorge from a hiking trail near the Preveli Monastery in the Rethymno region.
Video and images shared by the shelter showed several employees taking great care of Mirage and nursing her back to health
When asked if they would put her up for adoption down the road, Battista said the shelter plans to see if any of the couple's extended family would like to take her in first
The outlet reported that she was pronounced brain dead less than a week after the fall, which caused her to suffer major injuries to her skull and chest.
Tragically Thomann lost her unborn child in the fall, with 21 firefighters and rescue teams battling to reach her from what was described as an inaccessible spot.
Her family traveled to the country to visit her before her death, with Veronica Katz writing on her CaringBridge page, seen by SFGate, that she 'loved helping and teaching others.'
According to her social media, she had worked as a physics teacher. Her family have announced they would be donating her organs.
