Superstitions accident

[Heliops]

Happy New Year, this is just a reminder to be viligant out there.
On December 30th there was a fall in the Sups that resulted in non recoverable injuries. Always sad to lose a fellow outdoorsman.

[xsproutx]

Damn; did this involve two people? Think I may have seen something about it through a friend of a friend if so. Any details on the trail/off-trail excursion?

[Heliops]

Sierra Canyon, anchor collapsed.

[Watauga]

Damn; did this involve two people? Think I may have seen something about it through a friend of a friend if so. Any details on the trail/off-trail excursion?

I found a good description on another board.

Description of Event: On December 30th, 2021, three experienced canyoneers entered the rugged Superstition Wilderness of Arizona to complete a descent of Sierra Canyon – a fairly popular and well-trafficked route, for the area. The canyon is classified as 3B III, with a few deep pools but no particularly hazardous or challenging obstacles.

First-hand account per JJ Taylor:While running Sierra Canyon, Brandon Levander lost his life in a rappelling accident. We approached R2 and decided to try and avoid the pool at the base of the rappel by traversing LDC and setting another anchor outside of the watercourse. We identified a rock arch that we then evaluated, determined to be sufficient, and slung with webbing. Bob Conklin went down first, myself second, and Brandon last. Despite having confidence in the anchor, all three of us performed a soft start out of precaution to reduce the force applied on the arch. When Brandon passed over the edge, the rock arch blew and he flipped upside down falling head-first approximately 25 ft to the canyon floor. The webbing and quicklink, still intact, came down with him. Brandon sustained a skull fracture from the fall and we requested evacuation using his Garmin InReach satellite device. At the hospital, he underwent brain surgery but was unfortunately unable to recover from his injuries.