Micah Smith set off for a hike with his three children in Utah on October 11, 2025. When Smith and his 2-year-old son, 4-year-old son, and 8-year-old daughter didn’t return several hours later, loved ones became concerned. The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office launched a search and rescue mission and found the family alive the following morning. Nearly two months later, prosecutors charged Smith in connection with the dangerous hike.
The family took off on their hike in the Big Cottonwood Canyon area of Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The weather was cold that day, and the family became trapped in the elements. According to a since-deleted GoFundMe, Smith suffered third-degree frostbite and a child, identified as Ezra, was on life support after the rescue. The sheriff’s office noted in a news release following the rescue that the case remained under investigation. Now we know why.
According to court documents obtained by KTVK, Smith told investigators he didn’t know much about the area prior to taking his young children on the hike. The family took off around 9 a.m. and reached the summit around 6 p.m. At that point, the weather “turned into mist, fog, rain, and hail.” Smith tried to shelter his children from the elements after descending about 600 feet…