Update: Emery boy dies in ATV accident

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An Emery county teenager was found dead from an ATV accident on stretch of road in Wildcat Canyon west of Emery.
Solomon Jack Gardner, 17, Emery, was found dead Monday by members of the Emery County Search and Rescue after authorities located the teenager’s body at the bottom of a 130-foot cliff.
On Monday at approximately 4:30 p.m. a call came into dispatch from Emery stating there was an ATV accident. Three friends, including Gardner, were riding ATVs on the Wildcat Canyon road west of Emery, west of SR-10. Gardner rode ahead and the other two riders were following behind. The two riders behind Gardner were unable to locate him after he left their sight. They then went back down the road and found Gardner at the bottom of a 130 plus foot cliff. They couldn’t reach Gardner because of the cliff and ledges and when they called out to him, there was no response. They then road back into Emery where they were able to get cell phone service and called 911.
The Emery ambulance responded to the scene along with deputies and Sheriff LaMar Guymon. The Emery County Search and Rescue and the high angle rope rescue team were among the first to arrive at the scene. Members of the rope team descended into the canyon and determined Gardner had succumbed to his injuries from the fall. Gardner was wearing a helmet and protective riding gear at the time of the accident. It took the recovery team several hours to set-up and descend to retrieve the deceased.
Further investigation leads the Emery County Sheriff’s Office to believe that Gardner was going too fast up the road to negotiate a sharp turn causing him to flip over a cedar tree and then over the edge of the cliff. Gardner’s body has been sent to the Medical Examiner’s office.
Gardner was in Emery for the summer staying with his family and he also lives in Taylorsville. The family is building a home in Emery.