The wind was already howling through Big Cottonwood Canyon when Micah Smith, a 31-year-old father from South Jordan, Utah, made a decision that would change his family’s life forever. On October 11, 2025, with storm clouds gathering over the jagged peaks of the Wasatch Mountains, Smith led his three young children—ages 2, 4, and 8—up the punishing Broads Fork Trail toward the summit of Twin Peaks. The trail, a grueling 9-mile round trip with over 5,000 feet of elevation gain, is rated as “hard” by every hiking guide, its rocky upper sections and exposed ridges explicitly not recommended for beginners or children. Yet Smith, undeterred by the darkening sky or the pleas of his own daughter, pressed on.
By nightfall, the family was missing. By morning, they were found—huddled under a makeshift shelter of sticks and rocks, two of the children unconscious, not breathing, and so hypothermic their lives hung by a thread. The 4-year-old, Ezra, would require 25 minutes of CPR, suffer a stroke, and undergo emergency brain surgery to survive. The 2-year-old was found pinned beneath his older brother’s lifeless body, both barely clothed in the freezing rain. The 8-year-old girl, trembling but stable, later told investigators she had begged her father to turn back, asking, “Daddy, are we going to freeze?” His response, chilling in hindsight, was to teach her CPR as her brothers collapsed, then abandon them in the storm to seek help alone.
Now, Micah Smith sits in the Salt Lake County Jail, charged with three counts of child torture and three counts of aggravated child abuse, all first-degree felonies that could land him in prison for life. Prosecutors call his actions “extremely selfish” and “depraved,” pointing to a pattern of escalating instability that includes prior suicidal ideations, domestic violence allegations, and a troubling disregard for his children’s safety. The story, which began with headlines praising Smith as a heroic father shielding his children from the elements, has unraveled into a harrowing tale of negligence, hubris, and a mountain that nearly became a grave.
A Day That Began with Promise

It was just after 9 a.m. on a cool October morning when Smith loaded his three children into the family car and drove to the Broads Fork trailhead, about 15 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. The trail is a favorite among seasoned hikers, its steep switchbacks and boulder-strewn upper reaches offering sweeping views of the Wasatch Range. But it is no place for novices, let alone toddlers. According to charging documents, Smith told his 8-year-old daughter the hike would be either “9 miles or 9 hours,” she wasn’t sure which—a confusion that underscores the reckless ambiguity of the plan.
Investigators later learned Smith had not checked the weather forecast, nor had he studied trail reports. He admitted the hike was “spontaneous” and “not well planned,” a stunning confession given the trail’s reputation. As the family began their ascent, the children were dressed in light clothing, unprepared for the plunging temperatures and early winter conditions that can transform the canyon in minutes. Smith carried minimal supplies—no emergency blankets, no proper shelter, no flashlight. His phone, however, was busy recording videos and snapping photos, some of which would later become damning evidence.
Around 2 miles from the summit, the terrain grew treacherous. The trail gave way to loose rocks and thorny bushes, forcing the children to scramble over shifting boulders and cling to vegetation for balance. The 8-year-old later told deputies they were “climbing the sides of a cliff,” her voice shaking as she recalled the effort. By late afternoon, dark clouds rolled in, and the temperature began to drop. She turned to her father and said they should go home. Smith shook his head and replied, “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing.” When she pressed again, saying she was scared, he quoted The Lord of the Rings: “You shall not pass.”
The storm hit hard and fast. By 6 p.m., as the family reached the summit, mist, fog, rain, and hail enveloped the mountain. The children were soaked, shivering, and exhausted. The 8-year-old later described it as “snowing, hailing, and raining all at once,” her fear so acute she was “worried about not living.” Smith, unfazed, recorded a video in which his daughter’s voice can be heard, small and trembling: “Are we going to freeze to death, Daddy?” His response, captured on the footage, was to assure her they were “almost to the top.”
A Descent into Nightmare
The descent was where everything unraveled. Around 8 p.m., with visibility near zero and the children struggling to move, Smith decided to shelter in place. He found a large rock with a slight overhang and gathered sticks and logs to fashion a crude windscreen. The 2-year-old, who had fallen and hit his head earlier, was already dazed. Smith removed the children’s wet clothes in a misguided attempt to keep them warm, leaving them “mostly exposed” to the elements, according to rescuers. The 8-year-old hugged her 4-year-old brother tightly, trying to share her body heat, but the cold was relentless.
At some point in the night, the 2-year-old stopped breathing. Smith performed CPR until the toddler revived, but the effort was fleeting. Hours later, the 4-year-old, Ezra, also became unresponsive, his body temperature plummeting to a life-threatening 62.6°F. In a moment that defies comprehension, Smith taught his 8-year-old daughter how to perform chest compressions and breathe into her brother’s mouth. Then, as the storm raged on, he left his children alone under the rock and began hiking down the mountain by himself, ostensibly to find help.
The 8-year-old later told investigators she was terrified, not just for her brothers but for herself. She kept performing CPR as best she could, her small hands pushing on Ezra’s chest, her breath puffing into his mouth, all while hail pelted the makeshift shelter and her father’s footsteps faded into the dark.
A Rescue Against All Odds
The family was reported missing late on October 11 after Smith’s wife, Samantha, received troubling texts from her husband. In one message, sent after 5 p.m., he included a photo of dark clouds and rain, admitting the children were “starting to get tired” and that it was “tough with three children and no second parent.” Samantha urged him to get them home, but Smith did not respond. When the family failed to return, she alerted authorities.
The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team, supported by the Utah Department of Public Safety’s helicopter crew and Life Flight, launched an overnight operation. Harsh weather limited air support, and the ground team faced a grueling five-hour climb to reach the family’s location. At sunrise on October 12, they found Smith walking alone on the trail, “behaving oddly” and showing little concern for his children, according to deputies. When asked about his kids, he reportedly told rescuers one of them was dead.
The children were located shortly after, huddled behind a boulder with a few sticks stacked against it. The 8-year-old was in stable condition but traumatized, her teeth chattering as she recounted the night. The 2-year-old was found unconscious beneath his 4-year-old brother, both hypothermic and not breathing. Ezra, the 4-year-old, was “mostly exposed” and appeared lifeless, with no detectable pulse. Rescuers performed 25 minutes of CPR on him during the helicopter transport to Primary Children’s Hospital, where his heart finally began beating again, albeit weakly.
At the hospital, Ezra’s condition deteriorated further. His body temperature was so low he suffered a stroke, requiring emergency surgery to remove a portion of his skull and insert a ventricular drain to relieve brain pressure. The 2-year-old, also critical, was placed on a heart-lung bypass machine. The 8-year-old, discharged days later, carried emotional scars that may never fully heal. As of late November, Ezra remains hospitalized, with doctors uncertain about the extent of his neurological damage.
A Hero Narrative That Crumbled
In the immediate aftermath, some media outlets and a now-deleted GoFundMe page painted Smith as a heroic father who “bravely sacrificed himself” to protect his children, suffering third-degree frostbite in the process. Organized by Smith’s brother, Zach, the fundraiser raised over $60,000 before it was taken down on November 27, the same day charges were filed. The family’s statement, released through the GoFundMe, expressed gratitude for community support and described Smith as “a good dad who loves his kids and loves taking them on adventures.”
But the narrative began to crack as investigators dug deeper. Videos recovered from Smith’s phone showed the children struggling to climb cliffs and pleading to go home. Text messages revealed he ignored his wife’s warnings and prioritized summiting over safety. Most damning was his admission to police: he had not checked the weather, was unfamiliar with the trail, and felt “comfortable hiking in the dark without light” despite his children’s obvious fear.
Prosecutors also uncovered a disturbing pattern of behavior. A month before the hike, Smith had expressed suicidal ideations to Cottonwood City Police, who found him with an axe and two firearms in his vehicle. He denied intent to use them but admitted he wanted to “hike to the top of the mountain.” On November 10, he was trespassed from Primary Children’s Hospital for allegedly tampering with Ezra’s medical equipment and interfering with his care. A separate domestic violence arrest followed the hike, though details remain unclear.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, announcing the charges, described Smith’s actions as “clearly spiraling” and causing “emotional and psychological harm” to his children. “This is not an easy hike you would take a child upon,” Gill said, noting the trail’s upper sections involve “slipping rocks” and “no clear path.” The decision to charge Smith with child torture—a rare and severe accusation—reflects the prosecution’s belief that his conduct was not merely negligent but intentionally reckless, bordering on depraved.
A Community Grapples with the Fallout
The case has sparked intense debate in Utah, a state where outdoor recreation is a way of life. Hiking with children is common, but experts emphasize the need for preparation, especially in the unpredictable canyons of the Wasatch Range. Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera, praising the first responders who saved the family, issued a renewed warning: “As colder weather sets in, please plan ahead and prepare for fast-changing canyon conditions. Check forecasts, pack warm layers and supplies, and always let someone know your route and return time.”
On social media, particularly Reddit’s r/SaltLakeCity, reactions range from heartbreak to fury. “Those poor kids,” wrote one user in a thread that garnered over 500 upvotes. “He made an 8-year-old do CPR while he wandered off. What kind of father does that?” Others pointed to Smith’s history of irresponsible behavior, including prior traffic violations and an attempt to obscure his license plate, as evidence of a broader pattern. One commenter, claiming a distant connection to the family, noted that while the children are improving, Ezra’s prognosis remains uncertain, with the family’s hopeful updates possibly masking the severity of his condition.
The Smith family, through their statement, has asked for privacy as they focus on the children’s recovery. They describe their “hearts broken” and express gratitude for the “extraordinary efforts” of rescuers and medical staff. Yet the public’s sympathy is tempered by the charges, with many questioning how a father could prioritize a summit over his children’s lives.
A Reckoning on the Mountain
Micah Smith remains in custody without bail, his behavior described by prosecutors as a “spiraling” threat to those around him. The children, meanwhile, face a long road to recovery. Ezra, who spent weeks on a heart-lung bypass machine, has begun speaking in full sentences, but the stroke and brain surgery leave his future uncertain. The 2-year-old, also critically injured, is stable but fragile. The 8-year-old, physically recovered, carries the trauma of a night she should never have endured.
The Broads Fork Trail, once a symbol of Utah’s wild beauty, now stands as a stark reminder of the line between adventure and recklessness. For Micah Smith, it was a line he crossed without hesitation, leaving his children to pay the price. As the legal process unfolds, one image lingers: a small girl, alone in the dark, trying to breathe life into her brother’s lungs while her father’s voice faded into the storm.
The mountain did not take them. But it will never let them go.