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Sister says hiker still missing after flash flood in Grand Canyon despite relentless search

Vaseline August 24, 2024

Search and rescue teams at Grand Canyon National Park spent nearly two days searching for a woman in Arizona after she was swept into a creek during a flash flood, the woman’s sister reported on social media Saturday.

Chenoa Nickerson of Gilbert, Arizona, was hiking in Havasu Creek, about a half-mile from where the creek flows into the Colorado River, when the flash flood occurred Thursday afternoon.

According to the National Park Service, the 33-year-old was staying overnight at a campsite near the village of Supai on the Havasupai Reservation, deep in a gorge near the Grand Canyon.

The flooding trapped several hikers in the area above and below Beaver Falls, one of a series of typically blue-green waterfalls that draw tourists from around the world to the Havasupai Tribe reservation. The area is prone to flooding, which turns the iconic falls a chocolate brown.

Other hikers reached the village, about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the campsite, where they waited for a helicopter flight. Governor Katie Hobbs activated the Arizona National Guard, including Blackhawk helicopters, to evacuate hikers from the village.

Tamara Morales, the sister of the missing hiker, noted the National Guard’s efforts and praised National Park Service rescue teams for “navigating incredibly dangerous terrain with extremely limited methods of communication, leaving no stone unturned.”

“We are extremely grateful to you and fully recognize that you are currently facing the impossible,” Morales said on Facebook. She did not immediately respond to direct messages.

The Havasupai Tribe’s reservation is one of the most remote in the continental U.S., accessible only by foot, mule or helicopter. The tribal council closed the steep, winding trail leading to the reservation after the flooding and asked permit holders not to come through Sunday.

“We kindly ask for your patience as we monitor the health and safety of tourists and tribal members,” the tribe’s tourism department said on its Facebook page.

Morales posted a photo of her sister smiling at the foot of a steep desert gorge, dressed in the workout clothes she was wearing when she disappeared, and with what appeared to be an electronic watch or exercise machine on her wrist.