By CAMERON FULLER and KIRSTEN WAITE
The search for Aaron Lowe came to a tragic end Thursday afternoon when search and rescue workers found the 25-year-old BYU student’s body at the base of a cliff on Y Mountain.
Rescuers believe Lowe fell while climbing down the mountain and remained there until rescuers recovered his body. Although unsure about how long he survived, rescuers believe he most likely died instantly.
Lowe, who is originally from Woodbury, Minn., had been missing since Sunday afternoon. The last contact he had with his wife was when he called her to say he would be home for the second half of Sunday’s Jazz game. He called from the mountainside using a cell phone. After making the call, he apparently turned the phone off, according to Lt. Stan Eggen of the Provo Police Department.
He was married and the father of two children. His oldest child, Nina, is nearly 1 1/2 years old, and the other baby, Aaron Samuel, is less than two weeks old. Lowe recently graduated from BYU and was planning to attend law school.
“I want to thank all those rescue men and women who went to considerable risk, especially during the bad weather they were great, they were understanding, they went all out and so I appreciate that,” said Douglas Lowe, Aaron’s father.
“The second thing I want to say is that there have been many more who have been supporting us through their prayers and their faith,” Douglas Lowe said. “We’re very proud of him. We love him, and he is the all-American boy in the best sense of the word.”
Lowe’s body was discovered at 12:44 p.m., but it was several hours before rescuers were able to safely fly in and land the life-flight helicopter that transported the body off the mountain.
Eggen said rescuers used several clues to help them pinpoint the location. Past experience with recovering people from Y Mountain has proved the area of the accident to be particularly treacherous.
But rescuers also used search dogs, helicopters and even tips from Lowe’s friends about his hiking style.
“We had expended a great deal of time on this search. The men had been up there for several days in a row,” Eggen said. He said the operation would have been finished quicker if the weather had not been so harsh.
BYU President Merrill J. Bateman released a statement expressing his sadness about the accident and his condolences for the family.
“We know that the past four days have been a very difficult time as they have waited for news from those searching on the mountain. We pray that the Lord will bless them with comfort and peace knowing the fine life that Aaron has lived.
“It is not only a sad time but also a time of warning to our young people who see the mountains as a challenge and want to scale them. Great care must be taken,” President Bateman said.
Memorial services will be at 11 a.m. Monday at the LDS 12th Ward chapel at 200 N. 500 East in Provo. Funeral and burial services will be later in the week in Minnesota.
A trust fund has been set up at the U S Bank for Jacquelyn Lowe and her two children.
