Utah charges former youth pastor in wife's 2006 Angels Landing death

Washington County prosecutors charged former youth pastor David Vander Meer with murder and insurance fraud on June 23 in the 2006 death of his wife, Bernadette Vander Meer, after investigators reopened the case on a tip. A warrant signed by 5th District Court Judge Jay Winward led to Vander Meer’s arrest by the U.S. Marshals Service on June 22.

Bernadette Vander Meer died after falling from Angels Landing at Zion National Park on August 22, 2006. The couple hiked up before sunrise to watch the view, and David Vander Meer told investigators he turned around briefly before hearing his 28-year-old wife scream as she was falling. He said he ran for someone with cell service to call 911, and Bernadette’s body was later found at the base of the trail.

Court filings allege Vander Meer had a sexual relationship with an underage churchgoer that began when she was 14 and lasted four years, ending on August 20, 2006, two days before Bernadette died. Prosecutors also pointed to life insurance coverage that had risen to about $600,000. A former church boss told investigators he believed the death was not an accident and that Vander Meer had pushed Bernadette. Bernadette Vander Meer’s parents, Laura Gudenkauf and Richard Gudenkauf, said they had waited nearly two decades for answers and now felt closer to justice.

The trail beyond Scout Lookout is narrow, steep and exposed to sheer drop-offs, and permits have been required for that section since April 1, 2022. Zion National Park drew 5 million visitors in 2021, and the National Park Service says 13 hikers had died on Angels Landing or the trail to it since 2000.