(WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com)– An Erie family is grieving after a rock climbing accident in Utah resulted in the death of one climber and severely injuring another.
What started as another fun outing of rock climbing for Kaitlyn Marie Brann, 34, and her boyfriend, Scotty Hogg, 30, of Park City, Utah ended in tragedy after a piece of the mountain face they were climbing gave out, sending the couple plummeting below.
Back on May 12, Brann and Hogg set out to go rock climbing with another group of people at Big Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah that’s known for its scenic routes, hiking and mountain trails, and rock climbing routes.
According to Kaitlyn’s brother, Dylan Brann, Scotty Hogg was climbing while Kaitlyn Brann was belaying on Goodro’s Wall, part of a popular trail at the canyon, when part of the block Hogg was climbing on broke off.
First calls for the accident went out around 7 p.m. that night. Kaitlyn was declared dead at the scene while Scotty was airlifted to a local hospital for emergency surgery by Utah Search and Rescue.
Still grieving from the loss, Dylan wants his sister to be defined by the love she gave to Hogg and everyone around her.
“It’s always tough to figure out how you can summarize a life,” Dylan Brann went on to say.
After graduating high school from Mercyhurst Prep, Kaitlyn went on to eventually graduate from Penn State Behrend with a bachelor’s in psychology and worked in mental health. Dylan said this has to do with her love of broken things.
“Kaitlyn had an affinity for broken things, both animate and inanimate,” Dylan said. “If you knew her, that meant you probably were broken too but it also meant that she probably helped fix you.”
While still heart-broken from the loss of his baby sister, Dylan said that Kaitlyn found one thing that she was always looking for.
“She died in love and I think she wanted her whole life to find that, and one of the few silver linings in this is that she did find it,” Dylan Brann told us.
Friends and family continue to remember Kaitlyn fondly on her obituary page, while a GoFundMe has been set up for Hogg as he faces the long road to recovery.
