By Steve Gorman
Sept 1 (Reuters) – Three days after a flash flood killed two people in Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, search teams scoured the flood zone again on Tuesday for the last confirmed missing hiker while also watching for any more victims as yet unknown to authorities.
The National Park Service on Tuesday identified the two men whose bodies were recovered after they were swept to their deaths along the canyon floor on Saturday as John Giusti, 46, and Brent Rosenkranz, 42, both from Granbury in Texas.
A third member of their hiking group, identified in news media accounts as Timothy Allen Smith, 53, remained missing, according to the Park Service. Agency officials said on Monday they held out hope that he might yet be found alive.
In the immediate aftermath of the flood, authorities said that as many as 30 people were unaccounted for, before reducing the number to 15. On Tuesday, Smith was the only person conclusively still listed as missing.
Justin Cully, the Grand Canyon’s chief park ranger, told reporters on Monday an unspecified number of additional hikers might have been in the flood zone without officials knowing because no permits were required for daytime trail use.
On Tuesday, the Park Service left open the possibility that there might be more victims.
“Search and rescue operations are ongoing, with teams continuing efforts to locate the missing hiker and account for anyone else who may have been in the affected area at the time of the flood,” the agency said.
A total of 82 survivors were safely evacuated over the weekend, most of them by helicopter, according to Park Service incident commander Dave Black.
The flood was triggered by heavy rains that sent a cascade of mud, boulders and debris rushing through Bright Angel Creek, a major side canyon that runs from the park’s North Rim to the Colorado River, sweeping away trails, foot bridges and other infrastructure.
The torrent also caused extensive damage to the pipeline system that supplies fresh water to the park, forcing all its overnight lodging facilities to close indefinitely, although both the South and North rims of the Grand Canyon were kept open to daytime visitors.
(Reporting by Julia Harte and Steve Gorman; Editing by Aurora Ellis and Kate Mayberry)
