Syracuse Woman Dies While Hiking At Antelope Island

SYRACUSE, Utah – Authorities on Sunday released the identity of a woman who died while hiking at Antelope Island State Park. 

Samantha Weigel, 40, of Syracuse, was dropped off at the park early Friday morning by her husband, according to a statement from the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation.

She was supposed to spend the day hiking and then meet up with him later that afternoon, but she never made it to their designated spot.

“This was a very unfortunate accident,” said Utah State Parks Lt. Eric Stucki.

Accidents on Antelope Island have been known to happen, but Stucki said he can’t remember one like this.

“We haven’t had a lot of accidents on our trails out here throughout the years where people are hiking or biking,” he said.

Weigel hiked often.

“She does hike quite a bit. She has a group of friends that she does hike with, but this particular day, she was just going for a hike on the north west of the island,” said Stucki.

And on this particular day, she was hiking alone.

Authorities say at some point, she made it as far as the Split Rock and Elephant Head area before the accident occurred.

“The area that her body was located — it was off trail, so she was not on the designated trail,” said Stucki. “She was in a rocky area. It’s not particularly steep, but it has a lot of boulders. It’s a very rocky field that she would have been navigating her way through.”

Authorities believe Samantha slipped and fell.

They’re still investigating a cause of death, but officials said she had head and neck injuries. They also said they don’t suspect foul play.

When she didn’t show up at the rendevous point later that afternoon, Samantha’s husband called police.

Crews, including a DPS helicopter, began searching for her at approximately 6 p.m. Shortly after 7 p.m., Weigel’s body was found.

Park rangers say it was an unfortunate accident and urge hikers to take every precaution.

“We do encourage people to continue to make plans, to go with other people on hikes, and to stay to those designated routes when they are out hiking,” said Stucki.

Authorities say it’s extremely important to have a plan in place like Samantha Weigel and her husband did.

Sadly in this case, it still ended tragically.

“The Utah Division of Parks and Recreation extends our condolences to Weigel’s friends and family,” according to the statement. “We would also like to thank all the agencies and staff who assisted in the search and recovery efforts.”