PAGE — On Tuesday, January 12, 2016 the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of a death in Paria Canyon involving a man who was wingsuiting with friends.

The man has been identified as 29 year old Mathew Kenney out of Santa Cruz, CA. His body was located in the steep canyon walls approximately 15 miles north of Lee’s Ferry in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness area within the BLM Arizona Strip District. A Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Short Haul Team and an Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue helicopter responded yesterday to recover the body.

Due to the steep terrain and icy conditions on top of the canyon walls, the Sheriff’s Office was not able to safely anchor to access the body yesterday. The Sheriff’s Office continues to work with other agencies including Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue, National Park Service Search and Rescue, and Bureau of Land Management to develop a plan that will allow rescuers to safely access and recover the body.