A 16-year-old boy died Wednesday, Aug. 19, after falling several hundred feet while rock scrambling along the ridgeline at Devil's Castle in Little Cottonwood Canyon, the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office said.

The teen was with three companions on the ridgeline when he fell. A bystander who witnessed the fall called 911 around 7 p.m., according to ABC4. The Sheriff's Office released its detailed account Thursday.

Salt Lake County Sheriff's deputies, Search and Rescue volunteers, Unified Fire Authority crews, Alta marshals, AirLife and the Utah Department of Public Safety Aero Bureau all responded to the scene above Alta.

The DPS Aero Bureau located the teen from the air and guided ground crews to his position. Paramedics reached him and pronounced him dead at the scene.

He was 16 years old.

Responders then turned their attention to the teen's three companions, who were still stranded on the ridgeline above.

"I am grateful to our Search and Rescue volunteers and all of the responding agencies who worked together in extremely difficult terrain to reach the group and bring the remaining hikers to safety," Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said in the Thursday statement.

The teen's identity has not been released.

What hikers should know

Devil's Castle sits in high-alpine terrain above Alta at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon. The Devil's Castle Loop runs about 4 miles and climbs nearly 1,500 feet, passing Cecret Lake before ascending through Albion Basin toward the ridgeline. AllTrails rates the route as strenuous, noting that rock scrambling near the ridge makes it best suited for experienced hikers, as the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Salt Lake County Search and Rescue cautioned in its written statement that scrambling often involves exposed terrain where a slip or loss of balance can have catastrophic consequences. The team added that on routes like Devil's Castle, terrain can become far more serious than it appears from the trailhead or from a distance, and that a route does not have to be a technical climbing route for a fall to be severe.

Area closure

The Devil's Castle area was temporarily closed Thursday, Aug. 20, for continuing law enforcement operations and was expected to reopen Friday, Aug. 21. No confirmation of the reopening was available as of Thursday's statement.

It is not the first fatality at the site. In 1973, an 18-year-old from Sandy died after falling about 100 feet from a cliff while hiking down from Devil's Castle, according to Tribune archives.

The Sheriff's Office said additional updates on the Search and Rescue response will be shared through the agency's Search and Rescue social media channels.