Former Las Vegas Youth Pastor Charged in Wife's Deadly 2006 Fall From Angels Landing
- On Tuesday, the Washington County Attorney's Office charged David Vander Meer, 48, with murder and insurance fraud in his wife's 2006 death at Angels Landing.
- Authorities reopened the case after receiving tips suggesting suspicious circumstances; Bernadette Vander Meer fell approximately 1,200 feet from Angels Landing Trail on August 22, 2006.
- Court documents allege Vander Meer, then a youth pastor, told an underage girl the only way they could be together was if his wife "were not alive," and he collected $567,000 in life insurance following her death.
- Investigator Jessica Bate noted the incident appeared strange due to lack of witnesses and early morning timing; the Washington County Attorney's Office asked anyone with information "relevant to this case" to contact them.
- Vander Meer remains in custody at the Clark County Detention Center while authorities, who initially ruled the 2006 incident an accident, have now filed murder charges nearly two decades later.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Ex-Youth Pastor Charged in Wife's 2006 Fatal Plunge
A 2006 fatal plunge at Zion National Park that was long treated as a tragic mishap is now at the center of a murder case, NBC News reports. Former Las Vegas youth pastor David Vander Meer has been arrested and charged with murder and insurance fraud in the death of...
Former youth pastor charged with murdering wife – 20 years after her fatal ‘fall’ from notoriously dangerous hiking trail
David Vander Meer, 48, was cuffed by US Marshals on murder and insurance fraud charges on Monday after prosecutors reopened an investigation into the August 2006 death of his wife, Bernadette Vander Meer, NBC News reported.
Former youth pastor indicted for 2006 alleged murder of wife, who died in fall from Angels Landing at Zion Nat’l Park
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah, June 23, 2026 (Gephardt Daily) — The Washington County Attorney’s Office has filed a murder charge against a Las Vegas man, David Howard Vander Meer, in connection with the 2006 death of his wife, Bernadette. Bernadette Vander Meer was 29 on Aug. 22 of that year when she died in a fall from Angels Landing at Zion National Park. She fell an estimated 1,500 feet. Charges were filed this week against David Howard Vander Mee…
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