At least two people are dead after flash floods swept through parts of the Grand Canyon over the weekend, while one of their friends is still missing on Tuesday.
Dr. John Giusti, a 46-year-old chiropractor from Granbury, Texas, was killed, according to a family statement. Brent Rosenkranz, who was 42, also died, according to a family representative.
Search and rescue operations were expected to continue Tuesday for 53-year-old Timothy Allen Smith, who was raised in Granbury and living in Wyoming.
The three men entered the Grand Canyon on Friday and hiked to Bright Angel Campground, their families said. Their plan was to spend two nights exploring trails near the bottom of the canyon and go fishing before moving on to Havasupai Gardens, which the park says is a “frequent stop for hikers and mule trains traveling up and down the Bright Angel Trail,” before finishing their hike, according to a statement from their families.
“Our families are profoundly grateful to the search-and-rescue personnel working to bring our loved ones home and to everyone who has prayed for us, reached out, offered help and surrounded our families with love,” the families said Monday.
Giusti’s family described him as a devoted father of three daughters and “a real-life superhero.”
“To the community, he was a gifted healer. To his friends, a powerhouse of life. To his daughters, he was their ultimate hero. To me, he was my whole world,” Giusti’s wife, Janet Giusti, said in a statement.
Rosenkranz, a husband and father of three sons, was a “lifelong martial artist who has dedicated much of his life to teaching and mentoring young people,” his family said, before family representative Hannah Barricks later confirmed he died in the flooding.
“As an ATA martial arts instructor and school owner, Brent has made an impact on generations of students, but his family says the role he prizes most is simply being there for the people he loves,” the joint statement said.
Smith, also a husband and father of three, “loves the outdoors, exploring and helping others. Hiking and camping with his family are among the things he loves most,” his family said.
Authorities initially said about 15 people were missing after the flooding, but as of Monday night, that number had dropped to one.
Dozens of people had to be rescued after heavy rain caused flash flooding in Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch areas of Grand Canyon National Park. More heavy rain on Monday hampered continued rescue efforts. In just the past two days, the Grand Canyon was hammered by almost half a year’s worth of rain.
Rolling bands of rain pummeled the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on Monday, preventing the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which rescued 61 people over the weekend, from using its helicopters for rescue flights all day.
Over the weekend, as creeks began to swell and masses of muddy debris clogged rivers, rangers ordered dozens of hikers to run. Among those racing to safety were Erica Viola and her boyfriend.
“He’s yelling at me, ‘Run, run,’ and I’m going, ‘I can’t run any faster. I’m going to just die.’ I knew if I didn’t run, we weren’t going to make it,” Viola told CBS News. “Five minutes later we would have been washed.”
Ten minutes later, the footbridge they had used to reach safety was gone. It was among the infrastructure within the park that was wiped out by the floods.
“Nearly all footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, eliminating pedestrian access across the creek,” the National Park Service said Sunday.
Viola and her boyfriend were airlifted to safety a few hours later.
Steve Kramer managed to hike out, but he was exposed to yet another danger: falling rocks.
“All the people down in the canyon there, there’s just nowhere to go and nowhere out,” Kramer said. “No way out.”
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