Rachel Murphy had a passion for adventure, but she was anything but reckless. At 26, she managed a travel company in Phoenix and spent her free time exploring hidden corners of the American West. She shared her journeys with nearly 20,000 followers online, blending breathtaking photographs with careful travel tips.
She planned every trip meticulously—studying maps, preparing gear, and sharing her itinerary with her parents. So when she disappeared in June 2018 during a solo hike to Crystal Falls in southern Utah, her family knew something was terribly wrong.
Rachel set out on June 21st for a two-day hike through the canyon. Gas station cameras in Moab captured her cheerful and prepared: stocking up on water, energy bars, and ice. She parked her Honda Pilot at the trailhead, sent a final photo of the canyon to social media at 12:25 p.m., and vanished into the wilderness. Her fitness watch would later prove to be the silent witness to her final hours.
Crystal Falls was beautiful but remote—a narrow canyon that required hours of hiking. Rachel was experienced and cautious. When she didn’t return home by June 24th, her parents called rescue services. Teams found her car untouched, her keys hidden under a wheel as usual. Her first campsite was discovered with belongings left neatly by the fire. But beyond that, the trail went cold. Rescuers combed the area for two weeks, even scouring the lake at the base of the waterfall. There was nothing. It was as if Rachel had vanished into thin air.
For over a year, her case remained a mystery—until a rainy spring brought geologists to Crystal Falls to study rock erosion. While surveying the area, a student noticed a shred of bright fabric peeking from beneath a massive boulder. With heavy equipment, the rock was shifted. Beneath it lay Rachel’s remains. The discovery seemed to finally solve the mystery: perhaps she’d been photographing the waterfall when the rock fell. But forensic examination shattered that assumption.
Rachel’s skull bore multiple blunt-force injuries inflicted while she was still alive. Her ribs and pelvis showed signs of a violent beating, not consistent with falling rocks. Most chilling of all, the position of her arms revealed defensive wounds—she had been alive and conscious when the boulder crushed her. Someone had attacked Rachel, immobilized her, and then staged a rockfall to disguise the murder.
Investigators turned to technology. Rachel’s damaged fitness watch still held GPS data. It showed her arriving at the waterfall around 9:00 a.m. on June 22nd, spending time near the base, then moving erratically—doubling back, shifting direction repeatedly—as if she were panicked and fleeing. Even more crucially, a second device appeared on the data: a cell phone belonging to Travis Hail.
Travis, 29, had once worked with Rachel as a bus driver for tour groups. He’d shown romantic interest, which Rachel politely declined. Afterward, he quit and disappeared from her life—but not from her mind. Travis had continued following her travels online, growing quietly obsessed. Investigators learned that he had driven to Utah, arriving at the waterfall before Rachel, waiting in the canyon’s shadows.
Travis initially lied, claiming he was in Denver the entire time. But gas station CCTV and cell tower data placed him in southern Utah. When confronted with evidence, he spun another lie: he claimed to have bumped into Rachel by coincidence and had a friendly chat before leaving. But GPS data revealed he lingered at the site for hours after Rachel’s movements stopped.
The most damning evidence came from his phone. Investigators recovered deleted photos from cloud backups. The images were horrifying: Rachel lying bloodied but alive. The waterfall. The boulder perched above her. Then, chillingly, photos capturing the exact moment the rock fell. Travis had photographed his crime like a twisted documentary, taking shots from multiple angles. Confronted with this, he confessed.
Travis admitted he had tracked Rachel’s hiking plans from her blog. He drove through the night, ambushed her at the waterfall, and confronted her. When she rejected him again and threatened to report him, he snapped—beating her unconscious and then using a branch to lever a boulder onto her body. He stayed at the scene to ensure the “accident” looked convincing, then fled to Denver.
For months, Travis lived as if nothing had happened. He changed jobs, made new friends, and followed the investigation from afar. He thought he was safe. But technology—GPS, CCTV, and cloud backups—pieced together a timeline more precise than any witness ever could.
In 2021, Travis was tried for first-degree murder with extreme cruelty. The prosecution proved premeditation: his ambush, his stalking, his documentation of the killing. The jury was unmoved by his lawyer’s claims of a “crime of passion.” He was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Rachel’s parents founded a memorial fund promoting safety for solo travelers, teaching others to share plans and use modern tools to stay safe.
Rachel Murphy’s death was not the result of chance. It was the culmination of a dangerous obsession fueled by rejection and opportunity. A secluded canyon became the stage for a calculated act of violence. But in the end, the very technology she relied on for adventure helped bring her killer to justice.
