John Jefferson
The body of a missing hiker was discovered Sunday after she was swept away in a flash flood at Grand Canyon National Park days earlier, officials said.
Chenoa Nickerson, 33, from Gilbert, Arizona, was found dead around 11:30 a.m. in the Colorado River by members of a commercial river trip, the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) said. Park rangers responded and recovered the body, which was airlifted to the Coconino County medical examiner.
Nickerson was hiking near Havasu Creek and Beaver Falls around 1:30 p.m. Thursday when the flash flood inundated the area and stranded several hikers above and below the falls, officials said.
Park Rangers immediately launched a rescue mission to help those stranded. Nickerson, however, was reported as missing after the rushing water was believed to have swept her into Havasu Creek about half a mile above the Colorado River confluence.
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Officials said Nickerson was not wearing a life jacket when the flash flood engulfed the area. Search and rescue crews conducted a multi-day search for her.
NPS and the Coconino County medical examiner are investigating the incident. Officials said no further details were immediately available.
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Rochelle Tilousi, who lives near Havasu Creek, told FOX10 Phoenix last week that beautiful skies had given way to a sudden deluge that lasted at least 30 minutes.
“It was very scary,” Tilousi said. “That’s the second-biggest flood I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
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