Rescue pilot adopts cat found with dead owners in Bryce Canyon

A senior cat who plummeted nearly 400 feet off a cliff in Utah’s Bryce Canyon National Park has a new life. In late April, a helicopter pilot transported the tabby, orphaned after her owners died in the fall, to safety. On May 19, Chelsea Tugaw rescued the animal a second time — by adopting her.

On April 30, Tugaw, a search-and-rescue pilot with the Utah Department of Public Safety, flew from St. George, Utah, to Bryce Canyon to retrieve two bodies from beneath Inspiration Point. The popular viewing spot overlooks the world’s largest collection of rock spires, or hoodoos. A statement from the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office identified the victims as Matthew Nannen, 45, and Bailee Crane, 58. The Florida couple, who had been living out of a U-Haul van, had climbed over a railing and tumbled to their deaths. Park visitors discovered their remains and alerted park rangers. The cause of the fall has not been determined.

For the rescue mission, Jake Gallegos, a member of the four-person team, used a hoist cable to lower himself down a sheer cliff face and pull the bodies up. He also grabbed what he suspected was a backpack. It turned out to be a pet carrier with a cat inside. Gallegos clipped the soft-sided case to the harness and lifted the cat into the helicopter, scratching his finger against the enclosure to determine whether the animal was dead or alive. At the command post in Bryce, Tugaw learned the answer. “I automatically assumed that she wasn’t still alive,” Tugaw said. “That’s when I met Mirage.”

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, which is run by the nonprofit Best Friends Animal Society, took over her care. Cat World manager Brittany Nataro named her Mirage, after her unimaginable survival. During a medical exam, the veterinary team discovered a few broken teeth and fractured ribs. Inspecting her teeth and eyes, they determined her age to be around 12 years old.

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Mirage was not fully in the clear, however. About a week into her recovery, her breath became labored. They brought her to a Las Vegas specialist, who diagnosed fluid in her chest and a collapsed lung. Surgery was not required, and a few days later, Mirage was back in Utah, healing and stealing hearts. “She was very sweet and very popular with the Cat World team,” Battista said.

“I wanted to give her a chance to have a nice retirement home that’s quiet,” Tugaw said. “She’d be able to relax and sleep and just be an elderly kitty.”

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