Grand Canyon Flash Flood Kills 2 Hikers, Leaves 1 Missing as 80-Plus Evacuated
Updated
Updated · CNN · Sep 2
Grand Canyon Flash Flood Kills 2 Hikers, Leaves 1 Missing as 80-Plus Evacuated
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Sep 2
Summary
Families and the National Park Service confirmed Tuesday that John Giusti, 46, and Brent Rosenkranz, 42, died after Saturday’s flash flood, while Timothy Allen Smith, 53, remains missing.
At 12:23 p.m. Saturday, park officials relayed a National Weather Service flash-flood warning through satellite alerts, but Bright Angel Creek rose so fast that trails were buried, bridges and campgrounds were washed out, and gauges later went offline.
More than 80 people were evacuated from Bright Angel Creek, Cottonwood Campground and Phantom Ranch, with helicopters joining by about 3:45 p.m. as hikers described a 4-foot wall of debris, blackened floodwater and landslides of mud and rock.
The three friends had begun a 30-plus-mile, four-day trip Friday and planned to camp near Bright Angel Creek, underscoring how a routine monsoon storm rapidly turned into what one witness called a 'supercell monster.'