More people killed themselves or attempted to in Grand Canyon National Park from 2003 to 2009 than in any other national park but one.
According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 11 people killed themselves and 10 tried to at Grand Canyon during that period. Only Blue Ridge Parkway National Park in North Carolina and Virginia had a higher number of suicides - 15. Another 6 made attempts.
People also have taken their lives in Lake Mead National Recreation Area (3 suicides, 4 attempts), Saguaro National Park (5 suicides, 1 attempts) and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (4 suicides, 1 attempt).
In all, there were 194 suicides in national parks during that period.
The report did not provide statistics for individual parks, but it said 33 percent of the deaths were by gun, 19 percent involved a fall and 6 percent were transportation-related, such as driving off a cliff. Other methods included suffocation, poisoning and cutting or piercing. It said 83 percent of the victims were male, and the victims ranged in age from 16 to 84 years.
The CDC based its study on ranger-reported events. Any deaths investigated by law-enforcement agencies are not included in the statistics.
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