A man whose newlywed bride was killed while BASE jumping with him off a Utah mountain has been hit with a citation for parachuting in a national park, officials said.
Clayton Butler was slapped with the citation days after his wife of two weeks, Amber Bellows, plummeted 2,000 feet to her death after her parachute failed to open after she leaped off Mount Kinesava, a 7,276-foot peak that overlooks Zion National Park.
Butler, 29, desperately dived after his wife but was unable to reach her before she hit the ground Saturday. It took two hours for him to hike out and notify park officials, who retrieved Bellows’ body a day later in rugged terrain at the base of the mountain.
Butler was charged with a misdemeanor for violating a law banning parachuting from an aircraft, structure or natural feature in national parks. If convicted, he faces fines of up to $5,000 and/or six months in jail.