Jon Johnson File Photo/Gila Herald: Three people died in a UTV crash coming down Frye Mesa Road on Friday. Shown is the Frye Mesa Reservoir.
By Jon Johnson
FRYE MESA – The Graham County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed three fatalities in a UTV crash off Frye Mesa Road on Friday.
The three deceased adults include two men and one woman.
According to Sheriff P.J. Allred, the UTV went off the road and down a very steep and rocky ravine.
As of 9 p.m., one victim had been recovered and Graham County Search and Rescue was on the scene working to recover the two other victims. Assisting at the scene includes the Arizona Fish & Game Department, and the Bureau of Land Management with ropes. The rest of the recovery was completed around midnight.
The group was later identified as being three individuals who had gone on a ride Thursday night and hadn’t been seen since. At about 10:36 Friday morning, the GCSO received a call advising that Nicos Jacob Palma, 39, Christian Moreno, 24, and Ashley Baca, 33, were missing. The three missing individuals were positively identified as those who died in the crash.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
GoFundMe pages have been made for both Christian Moreno and Nicos Palma.
