A California mother plunged 140 feet to her death while hiking with her baby and husband on an Arizona mountain Monday, local authorities said.
The woman, identified as Zaynab Joseph, was found by a group of hikers when they heard her screaming in pain on an embankment after falling from a steep cliff on Bear Mountain, the county sheriff’s office said from Yavapai.
A hiker in the group rushed toward the embankment where Joseph, 40, was still breathing, but died a short time later, the sheriff’s office said.
The couple’s husband and child were airlifted from the mountain and Joseph’s body was recovered by first responders.
The family was staying in an Airbnb in Sedona while traveling from California, authorities said.
The cause of the fatal incident remains under investigation and sheriff’s officials are conducting several interviews with hikers after they descended the mountain.
A woman who identified herself as the victim’s sister said Joseph had a “heart of gold,” People.com reported.
“No words can describe the pain our families are going through, especially her husband and three young children,” Farwa Zaidi wrote on Facebook.
Bear Mountain is considered a “strenuous hike” because “it is mostly shadeless, steep and difficult in places,” according to the U.S. Forest Service.
It is unclear where Joseph and his family were hiking before his fall.
New York Post
