Search continues for woman missing after Colorado River flash flood at Grand Canyon National Park
Aug 25, 2024, 5:00 PM
Search and rescue operations continue in the search for Chenoa Nickerson, who went missing after a flash flood struck Grand Canyon National Park. (Grand Canyon NPS via X)
(Grand Canyon NPS via X)
SUPAI, Ariz. (AP) — Search crews again Sunday were combing the Colorado River at Grand Canyon National Park for an Arizona woman missing after a flash flood days earlier.
National Park Service officials said Chenoa Nickerson, 33, fell into Havasu Creek above the Colorado River confluence around 1:30 p.m. Thursday. She wasn’t wearing a life jacket.
Nickerson is from the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert. She was hiking along Havasu Creek about a half-mile (800 meters) from where it meets up with the Colorado River when the flash flood struck.
Nickerson’s husband was among the more than 100 people safely evacuated.
“Chenoa Nickerson is still missing,” Nickerson’s sister, Tamara Morales, said Sunday on social media.
“Attempts to find Chenoa via her Apple watch have been unsuccessful,” Morales added. “Do NOT lose hope. She will be found.”
Sunday’s search
Park officials said they focused Sunday’s search by air, ground and motorized boats at the confluence of Havasu Creek and the Colorado River.
Chenoa Nickerson stayed overnight at a campground near the village of Supai on the Havasupai reservation, deep in a gorge off the Grand Canyon.
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. There, they awaited helicopter rides out.
Gov. Katie Hobbs activated the Arizona National Guard, including Blackhawk helicopters, to help evacuate hikers from the village.
Guard officials said an estimated 104 tribal members and tourists near Havasupai Falls have been evacuated since Thursday after floodwaters left them stranded.
The Havasupai Tribe’s reservation is one of the most remote in the continental U.S. It’s accessible only by foot, mule or helicopter.
Helicopter evacuations began after bridges were washed away and rescuers fanned out amid a series of towering waterfalls.
Read more: Family and friends pay homage to three Utahns who lost their lives in the Sierra Nevada mountains
