Rescuers searching for missing hiker who was swept away by flash flooding in Grand Canyon
Rescuers in the Grand Canyon National Park are searching for a woman who was swept away during a recent flash flood.
The flash flood, which occurred shortly before 1.30 pm on Thursday, led to several hikers being stranded in the area near Havasu Creek.
According to the National Park Service, 33-year-old Chenoa Nickerson, from Gilbert, Arizona, was swept into the creek during the flood and remains missing.
She was swept into Havasu Creek approximately 0.5 miles above the Colorado River confluence and was not wearing a life jacket, the service said in a news release. She is described as 5”8, 190 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. The search was ongoing on Saturday afternoon.
The flood trapped several hikers in the area above and below Beaver Falls, one of a series of usually blue-green waterfalls that draw tourists from around the world to the Havasupai Tribe’s reservation.
The area is prone to flooding that turns its iconic waterfalls chocolate brown.
Other hikers made it to the village, about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the campground, where they awaited a helicopter ride. Governor Katie Hobbs has activated the Arizona National Guard, including Blackhawk helicopters, to help evacuate hikers from the village.
Operations continued on Saturday and remained focused in the areas around Beaver Falls.
Nickerson’s sister, Tamara Morales, noted the National Guard deployment and praised rescue crews with the National Park Service for “navigating incredibly dangerous terrain with extremely limited methods of communication while leaving no stone unturned.”
“We are profoundly grateful for you and fully acknowledge that you are currently defying the impossible,” Morales said on Facebook.
The Havasupai Tribe’s reservation is one of the most remote in the continental US, accessible only by foot, mule or helicopter. The Tribal Council closed the steep, winding trail that leads to the reservation after the flooding and asked visitors with permits through Sunday not to come.
It comes following the deaths of a number of hikers on the Grand Canyon and surrounding areas. The National Park has averaged about 17 deaths a year since 2014. So far this year, there have been 11 deaths at the park.
Three people have died in the past month, according to park officials.
On August 10, officials announced that the body of 20-year-old Leticia Castillo, of Albuquerque, had been found about 150 feet below the rim of the Twin Overlooks along Desert View Drive.
Authorities believed the young woman entered the park around August 3 and was later reported missing. Her remains were found on August 6, officials said.
One month prior a Texas man died after hiking in an “unforgiving” area of park, which has been known to reach up to 120F in the shade during summer months.
