Colorado man dies in fall

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A 60 year old male and his friend, were hiking Baptist draw and Chute when the man fell and died from injuries sustained in the fall. Apparently the climbers thought they had gone past the exit point, when in fact they had not. Both men started to climb up a crack in the canyon wall to get out. Almost at the top one man fell and landed on a shelf about 75 to 100 feet below. The man fell Monday afternoon at approximately 3 p.m.. The Emery County Search and Rescue were involved in the search and the Utah Highway patrol helicopter was dispatched to the scene.
Emery County Sheriff LaMar Guymon said Emery County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue and deputies spend Monday, Oct. 8 and all day Oct. 9 in the Baptist Draw area, in the Chute Canyon area of the San Rafael Swell. They recovered the body of a 60 year old male from the Denver, Colo. area.
The man had been hiking in the area with a male companion also from Colorado. They were joined by another Colorado couple on Monday. During the afternoon the two men became separated from the couple and attempted to climb out. During the approximate 500 foot climb, the 60 year old man lost his footing and fell approximately 30 feet to an initial impact, and then fell another approximate 100 feet to a ledge.
The uninjured man was able to finish the climb out after several hours and hike to his vehicle. He drove approximately 15 miles to I-70 where he alerted a Utah Highway Patrol officer of the situation and the trooper then contacted the Emery County Sheriff’s Office.
The search and rescue responded to the Baptist Draw area on Monday night at approximately 10 p.m. and remained throughout the night. On Tuesday morning, with the assistance of the Department of Public Safety’s helicopter, piloted by Terry Mercer, search and rescue personnel Ken Eley and Layne Potter were flown into the area. The body of the deceased man was recovered and flown out of the canyon to awaiting search and rescue personnel. The deceased was transported to the office of the medical examiner.
John Bart Calkins of Englewood, Colo. was the deceased man. Calkins was hiking with James Wheeler of Boulder, Colo.