A harrowing mountain rescue in Utah has shifted into a criminal investigation after authorities alleged that a father intentionally pushed his three children into a life-threatening ascent.
The ill-fated hike through freezing, storm-battered terrain left two of the young children hospitalized in critical condition.
The investigation centers on 31-year-old Micah Smith, a father of three who was taken into custody and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail in connection with an October expedition on the rigorous Broads Fork Trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
The trail, known among hikers for its steep elevation gain and unpredictable weather shifts, became the site of a frantic search effort after Smith and his children—ages 8, 4, and 2—failed to return from what began as a strenuous fall outing.
According to charging documents, the family was overtaken by a storm mid-hike, leaving the children lightly dressed as temperatures plunged.
When the group did not return, they were reported missing, prompting an overnight rescue effort by search teams who later discovered the children partially buried in snow and struggling to survive.
When rescuers located them the following day, the 4-year-old had collapsed on top of the 2-year-old, both unresponsive and not breathing.
Officials said the older boy appeared “mostly exposed, unconscious and ‘appeared lifeless.’”
Smith told authorities that he attempted CPR on the younger boys before help arrived.
Two of the children were transported in critical condition, with the 4-year-old later suffering a stroke and requiring emergency surgery that included the removal of part of his skull.
Hospital officials noted that his body temperature was just 62.6 degrees when he was admitted.
Prosecutors wrote that Smith pushed ahead despite worsening conditions, stating in charging documents cited by Fox 13 that he chose to “summit a mountain over the safety of the kids.”
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What initially appeared to be a desperate survival story was later reexamined as investigators uncovered video recordings and statements indicating that Smith continued the ascent even as his children pleaded for warmth and safety.
One of the most jarring pieces of evidence included a video in which Smith’s daughter could be heard asking, “Are we going to freeze to death, daddy?” Authorities said Smith still continued up the mountain.
Investigators also said Smith instructed his daughter in CPR techniques as the storm intensified, later leaving the children in the snow while he attempted to head down alone.
First responders ultimately performed 25 minutes of CPR on the 4-year-old during the rescue effort.
Smith’s daughter later described multiple attempts to persuade her father to turn back, telling investigators she begged him repeatedly as the storm escalated.
She said he refused and insisted that the ordeal would be a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience.
At one point, according to the documents, he physically blocked her path and told her, “You shall not pass.”
Authorities said the children had been told that the hike would cover nine miles or last nine hours, though the daughter could not recall which version Smith used.
In reality, the Broads Fork Trail is about five miles round trip, though the continuous elevation gain can leave even experienced hikers exhausted.
The family spent the night in high-altitude snow before rescuers found them roughly 600 feet below the summit, sheltering behind a boulder with a few sticks propped up for wind protection.
The youngest child had suffered a head injury after a fall left him disoriented.
When search teams reached the group, they noted that Smith behaved strangely and showed little concern for the children’s condition.
“Not an easy hike that you would take a child upon,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill commented.
“Search and rescue folks for them. This hike was a hard hike. This was not an easy hike. This is one that even as trained professionals, they suffered injury trying to respond to it,” he added.
Court documents also referenced a prior police encounter involving Smith one month earlier, during which officers found him with two firearms and an axe after he reported suicidal thoughts and described wanting to climb a mountain.
Although Smith denied having any intent to harm himself, the prior incident became part of the investigative timeline.
On Nov. 10, Smith was again contacted by authorities after he allegedly trespassed at Primary Children’s Hospital, where his 4-year-old was being treated.
Officials said he interfered with medical care and tampered with equipment before leaving. He was later arrested in an unrelated domestic violence case.
Prosecutors wrote in a recent filing that Smith’s behavior was “clearly spiraling” and posed a danger to his children.
Smith appeared virtually in 3rd District Court on Tuesday morning, where Commissioner Todd Olsen issued a protective order barring him from contacting the children.
Smith asked to be released from jail, but prosecutor Clifford Ross rejected the request, calling it a “hard no” and arguing that he presented a “significant safety risk.”
Olsen agreed, stating, “There is substantial evidence to support the charges in this case, Mr. Smith, and I do find by a clear and convincing standard that you would be a danger to the alleged victims if you were released today.”
Smith remains in custody ahead of a Dec. 8 detention hearing.
While Utah authorities continue piecing together the details of the Broads Fork incident, investigators in Austria have completed their inquiry into a deadly mountaineering case that occurred earlier this year on the 12,460-foot Grossglockner, the country’s highest peak.
The boyfriend of a 33-year-old woman who died during a January ascent is now facing charges of manslaughter by gross negligence.
Officials said the couple, who had set out for the summit together, encountered trouble just 165 feet from the top when the woman became too weak to continue.
Her partner, an experienced mountaineer, left her alone in the severe cold for nearly six and a half hours while he went to seek help.
Investigators determined that the temperatures, high winds, and lack of shelter caused her to freeze to death during that period.
The public prosecutor’s office alleged that the man failed to account for his girlfriend’s inexperience in high-altitude alpine conditions and proceeded with a route far beyond her capabilities.
They also found that he departed two hours later than planned, carried insufficient emergency supplies, and failed to move her into a protected area before leaving.
Despite seeing a police helicopter overhead that night, officials said he did not signal distress.
He eventually contacted authorities hours later, but by the time rescuers reached the woman the following morning, she was already dead.
The case is scheduled for trial on Feb. 19, 2026, at the Innsbruck Regional Court.
