Meg O’neill Obituary, Utah Woman Died Saving Friend From Huge Column Of Falling Ice
Meg O’neill Obituary, Utah Woman Died Saving Friend From Huge Column Of Falling Ice
A hiker was killed when she saved a friend from falling ice in Duchesne County, Utah, on April 2, 2023.
A 41-year-old Utah woman who died while climbing a frozen waterfall is being hailed as a hero for pushing her friend out of the way as a giant column of ice fell toward them.
“Unfortunately, the climber that pushed her fellow climber out of the way of the falling ice was trapped underneath two huge blocks of ice and did not survive,” the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office in Utah said on Facebook Tuesday.
The survivor, a 21-year-old woman, made her way out of the terrain and drove to a place where she could call 911. A 34-year-old man with them fell about 40 feet and was taken from the scene by helicopter.
The three were scaling the frozen Raven Falls in Indian Canyon, in Duchesne County about 90 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. The spot is popular for ice climbing, a sport that involves traversing frozen surfaces including waterfalls and cliff faces.
The victim was identified by several friends and media reports as Meg O’Neill, from Salt Lake City.
Embark Outdoors, a nonprofit founded to help young refugee women through outdoor education, lists O’Neill as its assistant director
“We have lost a dear friend, a hero, and our fearless leader,” the group posted on its Instagram page. “In an act so true to Meg, she made sure the others on the ground were safe before she was killed by falling debris.”
The post went on to say that search and rescue personnel confirmed that O’Neill died instantly.
A biography on Embark Outdoors’ staff page describes O’Neill as a former science teacher with “a decade of experience in making the outdoors a more inclusive place for underrepresented populations.”
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