A photo shows a woman sitting on the ground as she looks out at Grand Canyon National Park.

“That view tho,” the caption reads.

The picture was posted on the Instagram account of Colleen Burns and presumably shows the 35-year-old Florida woman, who worked as a regional marketing director for Yelp.

It was taken early Friday morning, a timestamp indicates.

That same day, park officials say, Burns fell to her death at the national park, after she stepped off a trail’s edge by accident.

Rangers responded to a call Friday about a woman who had fallen from Ooh Aah Point, according to a news release from the national park. They found Burns’s body about 400 feet below the point.

Advertisement

“Ms. Burns had been hiking and taking photographs with friends for sunrise when she accidentally stepped off the edge of the trail,” the release stated.

The incident occurred when Burns was vacationing with friends, a group that included Jessica Roman, who spoke with WESH.

“She was stepping out of the way for another gentleman to kind of squeeze in, and unfortunately, Colleen kind of got tripped up on her own feet and fell backwards, fell into the canyon,” Roman told the station.

Roman called the moment the “longest, strangest, craziest two seconds” of her life.

“She was one of the coolest people I have ever known,” one person wrote in a Yelp thread after Burns’ death. “That sounds simple and trite but I mean it on so many levels, personality, looks, style, what she did with her life – I envied her. I was inspired by her. I am better for having known her.”

“She was a gift,” another person wrote. “Rest in peace and keep dancing, Colleen.”

Advertisement

“We are deeply saddened by the death of Colleen Burns, a cherished Yelp colleague and friend,” a company spokesman said in a statement. “Colleen launched the Yelp community in Orlando nearly seven years ago.

“Her passing represents a tremendous loss to our company, the communities she supported and the many friends she made while doing what she loved. We are heartbroken but thankful to have been positively shaped by her passion and joy for life.”

The D.J. Kaskade also posted about Burns, whom he described as a woman with an “unmatched enthusiasm for life” and a “crazy infectious smile.” (WESH reported that Burns had organized a Kaskade fan group.)

“Colleen was destined to be a star among us,” Kaskade’s website said. “She never wanted to be looked up to – it was genuine kindness, and absolute nurturing of a community she grew, from a soul that only knew love.”

A spokeswoman for Yelp confirmed that the Instagram account was Burns’.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.