18 suicides reported in national parks this year

[devilgrrl]

SALT LAKE CITY - Having mailed a farewell letter to his family back in Minnesota, Jerry O. Wolff stepped off a shuttle bus on a sunny Sunday morning and disappeared into Utah's rugged Canyonlands National Park.

"I am gone in a remote wilderness where I can return my body and soul to nature. There is no reason for anyone to look for me, just leave me where I am," he wrote.

No trace of Wolff has been found since he was last seen May 11. Park officials assume the 65-year-old biology professor committed suicide.

Millions of people come to national parks each year to enjoy the splendors of wildlife and natural beauty, but a tiny fraction arrive with a grim agenda.

<snip>

Ten people have killed themselves at the Grand Canyon since 2004, the most of any park in recent years, according to the Park Service. The 1991 movie "Thelma & Louise" - which ends with the pair driving off a cliff in a classic Thunderbird convertible - has been blamed by some for a string of copycat suicides at the Grand Canyon, even though the scene was actually filmed at a state park in Utah.

<snip>

Among the stories he has recounted: A young man once asked a couple to take his picture at Grand Canyon, then jumped to his death in front of them. Another man, who had squandered an inheritance, climbed to the top of Yosemite Falls, wrote his will - leaving money to have a redwood planted on his grave - and then leaped off the falls, the highest in North America.




more: http://enews.earthlink.net/article/nat?guid=20080625/4861c2c0_3421_133452008062517249291

[NightWatcher]

1. I cant think of a more peaceful place to die

for those who criticize suicide, would they rather have it turn to a murder- suicide with innocents losing their lives.

[easttexaslefty]

3. A really don't get what you mean

I haven't read any posts that criticize suicide. But consequences follow. Ask the mothers I know who now have to raise the children alone. One's husband blew his brains out in front of her. they are both plagued with guilt. the husbands had addiction problems..that can be solved in some cases. Or maybe the daughter I know, who is now suicidal because of her dads suicide. Or the sister I know who found the body after 4 days. did I mention after 10 years she is still haunted by the image. The same with a mom I also know who found her bloated son's body hanging in the shower by a rope. Or perhaps the mom of a 12 year old who also found her baby 10 mins later, cut him down and did CPR to no avail.
Believe me, I have compassion for suiciders...in fact I have struggled with thoughts of suicide since I found my son, but like it or not it has a profound affect on those left behind.

[peace13]

5. Peace and energy sent your way.

Life is just too sad. These people that go to the parks to die leave others to look for or find them. The pain trail never really stops. Peace, Kim

[mimitabby]

2. makes perfect sense to me

we live so far divorced from nature, and we know that we can't live in it anymore (at least most of us)
why not die in it?
A lot of us are also deprived of real privacy, which CAN be found in these remote places.

[easttexaslefty]

4. Maybe it would make more sense to try

to fix WHY people suicide?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

6. I presume the majority are at Golden Gate Park.

Crazy shit.