Aug. 26 (UPI) — The body of a missing hiker was recovered from the Colorado River on Sunday, days after National Guard soldiers rescued 104 people from the Grand Canyon due to flash flooding.
The body of Chenoa Nickerson, 33, was discovered at about 11:30 a.m. local time Sunday by a commercial river trip of the Colorado River, the National Park Service said in a statement, adding park rangers have recovered the body, which has been transported by helicopter to the Coconino County Medical Examiner.
Authorities had been searching for the Gilbert, Ariz., resident since Thursday when she was reported missing following a flash flood that hit Havasu Canyon, which is located in western Grand Canyon.
Video from the National Guard shows monsoon rain storms had washed through the bottom of the canyon, flooding the land of the Havasupai Tribe.
National Guard soldiers used a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter to evacuate tourists and tribal members but were still searching for Nickerson,.
The National Park Service said in a release that Nickerson was last seen about half mile north of the confluence of Havasu Canyon and the Colorado River wearing a black tank top, black shorts and blue hiking boots. The park service said Nickerson had been swept into the river by the flash flood waters.
Nickerson’s husband was rescued, a witness told a local media outlet.
A GoFundMe page has been established to help Nickerson’s family with expenses, it states.
Rainwater can fill Arizona’s sandstone canyons within minutes following flash floods and are known to be deadly during monsoon season. Hikers are always warned to avoid flood-prone areas when storms are forecast, because when torrential rain falls, hikers are left with virtually no time to escape.
Tribal leaders closed the village of Supai as a result of the flooding and the dangerous conditions, which followed the flooding.
“The trail into Supai and to the campground and falls are unpassable, the damage to the campground is extensive,” tribal leaders said in a Facebook post. “Therefore, the council has made the difficult but necessary decision to close Havasupai to tourists until further notice.”
Supai is a popular tourist destination for hikers, and is situated about 8 miles below the rim of the Grand Canyon.
