UPDATE: A Utah father, Micah Smith, has been arrested following horrific allegations of child torture after a grueling hike with his three young children turned life-threatening. The incident unfolded in Big Cottonwood Canyon on October 11, where Smith, 31, faces serious charges of aggravated child abuse.
Authorities report that Smith took his children, ages 2, 4, and 8, on a trek along the Broads Fork Trail, described as a “strenuous” hike with a challenging 2,100 ft elevation gain. Court documents reveal that his daughter recalled the hike as lasting either nine miles or nine hours, raising immediate concerns about their safety. The Salt Lake County District Attorney, Sim Gill, emphasized, “Not an easy hike that you would take a child upon.”
When Smith and his children failed to return, concerned family and friends reported them missing. Search and rescue teams located the family approximately 600 feet from the summit, where they had built a makeshift shelter from rocks and sticks to protect against harsh winds. Alarmingly, rescuers found Smith’s 2-year-old child dazed from a head injury, while his 4-year-old son lay unconscious on top of him, not breathing.
In a terrifying sequence, Smith told first responders that he had performed CPR on his younger children after they lost consciousness. Investigators revealed that the children were inadequately dressed for the weather conditions, wearing only minimal clothing. At one point, Smith instructed his daughter on how to perform CPR before descending the mountain alone, according to reports.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” the young girl recounted her father saying, as she pleaded with him to turn back just two miles from the summit. Smith’s actions turned what was supposed to be a family outing into a nightmare.
Text messages between Smith and his wife indicated growing concern for the children’s safety. At 5:18 PM, Smith texted, “Yes, [the 4-year-old] is exhausted… I’m getting tired of carrying [2-year-old].” He filmed a video during the ordeal, capturing his daughter’s haunting question: “Are we going to freeze to death, daddy?”
Once rescued, emergency personnel rushed the family down the mountain, performing CPR on the 4-year-old for 25 minutes. All four family members were subsequently hospitalized; Smith was reported to be in stable condition, while the two youngest children were in critical condition. Tragically, the 4-year-old remains hospitalized after suffering a stroke and requires surgery to remove a portion of his skull.
Smith was booked into jail in Salt Lake County on November 25. Disturbingly, this is not his first brush with law enforcement. Just a month prior, he was found with firearms and an axe, expressing suicidal thoughts and a desire to hike to the mountain’s summit alone.
As this shocking story continues to develop, authorities are closely monitoring the welfare of the children, urging the public to consider the serious implications of outdoor safety for minors. Updates will follow as more information becomes available.
