C172 Went Down Near Mount Dutton, UT
The National Park Service says that
on October 8, 2010, a privately-owned Cessna 172 with two occupants
left the Bryce Canyon Airport for a pleasure flight over Mount
Dutton before returning to Page, Arizona. Early on the morning of
October 9, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area dispatch center
received a report that the plane was overdue. Shortly thereafter, a
search was initiated by Garfield and Kane Counties, the National
Park Service and Classic Life Guard. At approximately, 0800 MST
Classic Life Guard located the plane in a rugged area known as Deep
Creek on Mount Dutton in Dixie National Forest. Both occupants were
killed in the accident.
The two occupants of the plane were identified as Glen Canyon
National Recreation Area Chief Ranger Brent McGinn and Dangling
Rope District Ranger Laurie Axelsen, who was piloting the Cessna.
The two off-duty rangers were returning from a pleasure trip to
Bryce Canyon, Utah where Brent met friends to scout hunting
locations.
According to Acting Glen Canyon Superintendent Kym Hall, "When
you think about what rangers do every day and the frequency with
which they put themselves in harm’s way for the protection of
visitors and park resources, it is a bitter irony that a
recreational outing on a day away from work took the lives of two
of our law enforcement rangers."
Laurie Axelsen, Brent McGinn NPS Image
Chief Ranger Brent McGinn was 49 years old and had worked at
Glen Canyon for almost three years. McGinn was from Duluth,
Minnesota and started his National Park Service career in 1980 as a
Park Technician at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Through the
years, he had worked at several National Park Service units,
including Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks and Canaveral
National Seashore. McGinn is survived by his parents and three
siblings.
Dangling Rope District Ranger Laurie Axelsen was 41 years old
and had worked at Glen Canyon for over eight years. She was from
Great Falls, Montana and started with the National Park Service in
1989 as a Park Ranger at Mount Rainier National Park. Axelsen had
previously worked at several national park units, including
Olympic, Big Bend and Shenandoah National Parks. She is survived by
her parents and a brother.
Both are survived by their National Park Service family and
friends across the nation. "There will be a tremendous hole in our
organization with the loss of two such well-known and passionate
people," said Superintendent Hall.