Park Worker's Fatal Fall into Yellowstone's Grand Canyon

In the early hours of the morning on Aug. 26, 2016, Yellowstone National Park employee Estefania Liset Mosquera Alcivar fell from Grand View Point in the park and died.

Alcivar, a native of Ecuador, was working in park concessions for the summer and was with her coworkers near the trail when she fell around 3:15 a.m.

Grand View Point is part of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, not to be confused with Grand Canyon National Park over 600 miles away. Some media reports have incorrectly reported Alcivar fell in Grand Canyon National Park.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River is a spectacular 24-mile-long canyon with unique color schemes resulting from exposure to geysers and hot springs. Tourists from around the world are attracted to the park and its natural wonders.

But with the high traffic of people visiting, working and living in the park, this is not the first time someone has fallen off the rim at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. Last year, a New York man fortunately survived after he tried to take a picture at the Grand View Overlook and tripped over the edge. In 2014 an 8-year-old girl lost her footing after she went off-trail and fell to her death, and in 2012 another park worker, an 18-year-old from Russia, fell into the canyon while hiking.

While the circumstances of Alcivar’s fall remain under investigation, a project is already in the works to rehabilitate trails, stone barriers and overlooks at the Yellowstone canyon. The initiative began on June 20 and is scheduled to be completed in 2020.

Visitors are already cautioned about the rim trails, but the four-year project will improve the safety and accessibility of the area. Plans involve re-routing trails away from dangerous edges, building new walkways to overlooks, and more accessible viewing points.