Man dies after vehicle goes over Grand Canyon's western rim

PEACH SPRINGS, Ariz. - A man is dead after driving a vehicle over the western rim of the Grand Canyon in an apparent suicide, authorities said Wednesday.

Details were sparse. The name, age and hometown of the man weren't immediately available.

Lea Cooper, the marketing director for the Grand Canyon Resort Corp. said the incident Wednesday afternoon involved a male who appeared to intentionally drive into the canyon. No one else was in the vehicle, Cooper said.

"This is still an active investigation and we will provide updates as they become available," Cooper said.

The corporation oversees Grand Canyon West, a popular tourist attraction on the Hualapai reservation outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. The attraction is best known for the Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped glass bridge that juts out 70 feet from the canyon walls and gives visitors a view of the Colorado River 4,000 feet (1.2 kilometers) below. "The Hualapai people consider the canyon a place of sacred beauty and healing, and we are devastated by this tragedy," Ruby Steele, the corporation's interim chief executive and a Hualapai member, said in a statement.

Officials with Grand Canyon West said they are fully cooperating with authorities who are investigating the incident, and on the recovery of the body and vehicle.