South Mountain hiker dead after falling a 'significant distance'
A hiker was airlifted off of South Mountain on June 5, 2026.
PHOENIX - A hiker died Friday afternoon after falling a "significant distance" on South Mountain, authorities said.
What we know:
The June 5 incident happened around 1 p.m. near the Mormon Trailhead. Rescue crews located the unidentified man with "multiple injuries" on the mountain, and they used a helicopter to bring him off the mountain.
He was with a family member who alerted 9-1-1, and helped rescuers reach him. The man was taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition, but died from his injuries.
What they're saying:
Fire officials say never hike alone, with this as an example of the quicker response, due to the fact this man had someone with him who saw this happen.
"Most of the trails are pretty well-defined, and you can see that, but it’s still gonna be uneven. Any time you’re hiking up a mountain, you’re gonna have loose rocks, you know, different things. We always talk about wild animals as well as scorpions, snakes, things like that to be prepared for. We always say stay on trail, never go off trail, because that’s when you can get into a lot more danger. Again, we don’t know the details of what caused this fall, if he was on trail, if he was off trail," Phoenix Fire Capt. DJ Lee said.
What we don't know:
It’s not clear how far he fell, or if he tripped and rolled, or fell straight down. It’s also not clear if heat played a factor in this incident at all.
The man's name and age were not released.
Map of the area where the incident happened