Roll of Honor
Incident
Trooper Aaron Beesley died after falling from a cliff while performing a search and rescue mission in Salt Lake County.
Trooper Beesley, a tactical flight officer for the agency, had been assisting in the search for two missing teenage hikers along the Mount Olympus Trail. The helicopter located the two, and Trooper Beesley was placed on the ground to assist them. As the two were airlifted to safety Trooper Beesley was left at the scene.
When the helicopter returned to retrieve Trooper Beesley, he could not be located. He was located at the bottom of a 90-foot cliff a short time later. Ground-based rescue crews reached his location approximately 45 minutes later. It is believed he was attempting to retrieve a backpack when he fell from the trail.
Trooper Beesley had served with the Utah Highway Patrol for 13 years.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife and three children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-UT-EF24FDB0- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I never knew you. I am standing here anyway.
Trooper Beesley gave the Utah Highway Patrol 13 years.
Thank you for your service to the people of Utah. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Trooper Beesley.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Trooper Aaron Robert Beesley is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In UT, 49 of 138 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 35.5% of this state's fallen. That is 4.5 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Utah Highway Patrol, 9 of 16 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 56.3% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Aaron Robert Beesley's cause is highlighted.
How Aaron Robert Beesley Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Aaron Robert Beesley is highlighted in Jun.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
15 officers from Utah Highway Patrol are honored on badge.nw.
