Biker injured by wire trap in Tibble Fork offers cash reward for information leading to arrest
Oct 8, 2025, 11:51 AM | Updated: 5:52 pm
On the left: a photo showing a wire wrapped around two trees in Tibble Fork. On the right: A photo showing Daniel Bender after being struck by a wire strung between two trees. (Courtesy of Daniel Bender)
(Courtesy of Daniel Bender)
SALT LAKE CITY — A biker who was injured by a wire trap in Tibble Fork is offering some of his own money to catch whoever set the trap.
Daniel Bender said he was inspired when he saw the Sage Rider Dirt Bike Club put up a $500 reward to help find the person responsible for wrapping wire up between two trees.
“When I saw that, I was so… overtaken by that gesture. I’m like, you know, that’s a great idea,” Bender said. “So I pitched in another $500, and since then, I have seen a couple other posts that are upping the ante.”
Last Friday, Bender was riding along a trail called Hidden Forest when he was knocked off his bike by a wire strung between two trees. He cut his mouth and face, but says he is grateful it wasn’t worse since similar accidents have killed riders in the past.
A photo showing a wire strung between two trees where Bender was injured. (Courtesy of Daniel Bender)
“There has been lots of cases of people being decapitated by similar types of traps,” Bender said. “Fortunately, I wasn’t going fast enough, and it also hit me in the helmet, not in my neck. So I got really lucky.”
Since posting photos of the accident on Facebook, Bender said he has gotten a lot of feedback from the biking community.
“There’s been a number of people that have chimed in and said that they have found similar traps around the area, and they mostly have just cut them down and removed them,” Bender said.
He says in these situations, in addition to cutting the trap down, local authorities should also be called.
“It’s important to report it to the sheriff so that we can keep track of how many, and where, and what types of traps so that it might lead to a pattern that actually might help find who’s doing it,” Bender said.
Bender expects it will be a while before he feels comfortable riding in the canyon or in any forested area.
“It’s just unfortunate that that’s something that’s in my mind now,” Bender explained. “I wish it wasn’t, but you know, it’s something that I’ll be dealing with probably for a while until I can kind of get over that.”
The incident is currently being investigated by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
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