Murder suspect survives Grand Canyon leap

A man leapt into the Grand Canyon in an attempt to dodge police arrest.

But he was still arrested because his desperate jump took him less far than expected -- 8 meters.

Terrance Deering Black, 48, of Dallas, was accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Susan Loper, 40, who went missing last Tuesday from the Texas country club she worked in. Her body was found in the woods on Wednesday, a day after she went missing. A police warrant had been issued for his arrest, a British newspaper reported.

Officials from the Grand Canyon National Park said they received a report of a man begging on the south rim of the park on Friday around 1:45 pm. When rangers approached the man, however, he refused to give his identification, and jumped over the edge in flight.

But he fell just 8 meters before he was rescued by rangers. The man, who was later identified as Black, was immediately handcuffed and taken to the hospital for treatment. Once released from the hospital, he will be taken into custody.

The murdered victim’s ex-husband, Craig Loper, said that Black was always jealous of their friendship even after their divorce. He added that Mrs. Loper seemed to have moved on and had been dating someone else for a while after breaking up with Black.

By Yun Suh-young (syun@heraldcorp.com)
Intern Reporter