Father charged with child abuse, torture after taking kids on winter hike in Utah

A 31-year-old Utah father who was hailed as a hero for protecting his three young children on a winter hike last month is now facing child abuse and torture charges.

Micah Smith was commended in October for saving his family’s lives when he and his three children — an eight-year-old daughter, a four-year-old son and a two-year-old son — survived after becoming trapped in a winter storm while hiking in Big Cottonwood Canyon in Utah.

The family were rescued a day after going missing. Two of the children were taken to the hospital in critical condition, while Smith and his third child were deemed to be in a fair and stable condition, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office said.

Smith was later described on a now-defunct GoFundMe page as having  “bravely sacrificed himself” to protect his children, People reported.

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Now, he is facing multiple charges of aggravated child abuse and child torture, and is being held without bail, Salt Lake County jail records show.

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“What seemed like an innocent hike with his three children quickly turned into a nightmare when the defendant chose to summit a mountain over the safety of the kids,” the indictment says, according to ABC4 Utah.

“During the 24-hour ordeal, the victims expressed that they were cold, tired and wanted to go home,” the documents allege, adding that they described Smith as “ill-prepared and selfish,” and as displaying odd behaviour and a lack of concern for his children when rescue services arrived.

Police say Smith reported leaving home with his children around 9 a.m. to go hiking and that they summitted around 6 p.m.

Shortly after reaching the top, the weather “turned into mist, fog, rain, and hail,” the documents allege. ABC 4 says he told officers that by 8 p.m., the family had descended 600 feet before he decided it was necessary to find shelter and attempted to fashion a protective screen using a rock and large sticks to keep the children warm.

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Around this time, the documents allege that the two-year-old stopped breathing and that Smith performed CPR until he began breathing on his own.

According to charging documents, Smith told police that his two-year-old son fell and hit his head and appeared “dazed.”

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It added that the eight-year-old told authorities their father had said they were going on a long hike, which ended with her also having to perform life-saving measures on the four-year-old as he also stopped breathing.

Deputies say Smith reported earlier during the hike that he had sent photos to his wife, who suggested they start making their way down the mountain.

He also allegedly told police he was “comfortable hiking in the dark without light,” despite his children saying they were frightened.

After being rescued, the four-year-old child reportedly underwent 25 minutes of CPR and remains in the hospital, where he suffered a stroke and had a portion of his skull removed, according to People.

Police allege that a video found on Smith’s phone, captured from the day of the hike, shows his eight-year-old asking, “Are we going to freeze to death, daddy?” The hike is known for being challenging, and is not recommended for children or beginners.

Smith apparently admitted to being unfamiliar with the trail.