Matthew J. Schnitzer

Found Deceased

Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness
Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness

About Matthew J. Schnitzer's case

Primary Source: ABC 4

EMERY COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) – A 24-year-old man is dead after a hiking accident in Cottonwood Canyon.

The Emery County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO) says the accident happened on Thursday, April 22 in the Canyon above Orangeville.

ECSO says the man, identified as Matthew J. Schnitzer of New York, had been camping with his friend for about a week when he decided to go hiking on Thursday.

Schnitzer’s friend later decided to return to their campsite, while Schnitzer continued hiking.

When Schnitzer didn’t return to camp, his friend started looking for him, placing a light on the hood of his car near the camp in the hopes Schnitzer would see it.

The friend searched until 7 a.m. Friday morning. When he was unable to locate Schnitzer, he notified law enforcement.

ECSO, along with their Search and Rescue Team, then began searching for Schnitzer by helicopter. His body was later found at the bottom of an 80-foot cliff, according to ECSO.

Officials say Schnitzer appeared to have lost his footing on the slope above the cliff and slid over the edge.

ECSO thanked those involved in the search, saying, “The State DPS helicopter is a great support to search and rescue/recovery efforts in Emery County. Additionally, many Emery County Search and Rescue members took time off from their jobs to respond, and once this recovery effort was completed, they traveled to Salt Lake for weekend rope rescue training. We really appreciate the many volunteer hours they continually give.”

They added in a Facebook post, “ECSO extends condolences to Matthew Schnitzer’s family and friends at this difficult time.”

Note: No date was provided by ABC 4 as to when the body was recovered.

Personal Characteristics

Age / Ethnicity

Gender / Hair / Eyes

Distinguishing Marks

Not Available

Profession / Education

Not Available

Height / Weight

Not Available

Activity

Not Available

Points of Interest

POIs

No results available

Reset

Investigative Details

Foul Play Suspected: Unknown / Undisclosed
Suicide Suspected: Unknown / Undisclosed
Cause of Death: Undetermined / Unreleased

Significant Dates

Reported Missing: Friday, April 22, 2022 (2 years ago)
Date Found: No Date Available

Entities

Emery County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO)

Local Law Enforcement

Administrative Details

Monday, January 8, 2024 (7 months ago)

Missing NPF Public Identification Number (MPID) 10483

Missing NPF lists “Foul Play Suspected,” “Suspected Suicide,” “Cause of Death,” and other elements of data in association with public reporting. These settings do not reflect the opinions of Missing NPF and/or its staff. Unless explicitly noted, Missing NPF does not publicize opinion, nor are any of the initial reports written – or edited – by members of Missing NPF. All content (with the exception of “IMPORTANT” notices, listed toward the top of applicable case files) are the works of external persons, sources and/or entities. All pictures displayed on this case file have been downloaded from the public domain, unless a user has commented or otherwise transmitted a picture to Missing NPF or its social media accounts. Case updates are derived from external persons, sources, and/or entities, and do not reflect the internal work of Missing NPF, unless expressly noted.

Viewers since 1/2/2024

Discussions

Discussions are comments not intended to communicate an official case update. If you are intending to update the general public about this case file, please consider creating a case update.