A young man has died after going over Nevada Fall in Yosemite National Park over the weekend, the U.S. National Park Service says.
In a statement Thursday to Global News, the government agency confirmed a 22-year-old man, identified by the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division as Josue Baires Alfaro, died after falling over the edge of the 600-foot waterfall.
“At approximately 11:00 a.m., [on Saturday] park dispatch received reports that an individual had gone over the fall,” the statement reads.
“National Park Service rangers, Yosemite Search and Rescue personnel responded to the scene and conducted search and recovery operations below Nevada Fall. Mr. Baires Alfaro was recovered the next day,” it continued.
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The incident remains under investigation, the statement concluded.
A number of deaths have occurred at Nevada Fall over the years. In 2018, an 18-year-old tourist plunged to his death while attempting to take a selfie atop the landmark.
The teenage hiker was visiting from Jerusalem on a two-month trip to the U.S. when he fell. He was identified by the Mariposa County coroner’s office as Tomer Frankfurter after his body was found.
In the same year, a hiker died after slipping from cables mounted on the Half Dome, which rises 2,500 metres above Yosemite Valley, and two experienced climbers were killed after they slipped from El Capitan’s rock face, which rises more than 900 metres above the valley.
According to official National Park Service data, there were 17 fatalities in Yosemite National Park in 2024. Data for 2025 and 2026 is not available on its website.
Yosemite National Park, located about 270 km east of San Francisco, is one of the U.S.’s most visited parks, drawing about four million visitors annually who come to view landmarks including El Capitan, Half Dome and Yosemite Falls.
In separate incidents earlier this month, multiple heat-related deaths were reported at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, where three deceased hikers were found in temperatures exceeding 43 C in the shade.
Among them was a 72-year-old male who died along the South Kaibab Trail, the National Park Service said. During the same week, a 67-year-old male and a 68-year-old female, who also appeared to have succumbed to symptoms of heat-related illness on the North Kaibab Trail, were found.
An investigation into the second incident is still ongoing.
Last July, a 67-year-old man died in the Grand Canyon National Park while hiking on a trail in extreme heat, according to park officials.
Park rangers strongly advise all visitors to “take extreme caution when planning hikes during the summer months.”
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