Overview
- Micah Zephan Smith faces six first‑degree felonies — three counts of aggravated child abuse and three counts of child torture — and is being held without bail, according to jail records.
- Investigators say videos and texts on Smith’s phone show worsening weather on the Oct. 11 Broads Fork route and family messages urging him to turn back.
- Search teams found Smith walking at sunrise and located the children shortly after, then airlifted them from Big Cottonwood Canyon for emergency care.
- Court records state the 4‑year‑old arrived pulseless, required about 25 minutes of CPR, suffered a stroke and needed part of his skull removed, the 2‑year‑old was severely hypothermic, and the 8‑year‑old was treated for exposure; the 4‑year‑old remains hospitalized.
- Filings note Smith called the outing spontaneous, said he did not check the weather or know the trail, and prosecutors referenced prior police contact and an alleged later incident at a hospital.