{"id":222674,"date":"2026-09-01T01:06:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T01:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/grand-canyon-search-continues-for-15-missing-after-flash-flood-destruction-two-deaths-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T01:06:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T01:06:25","slug":"grand-canyon-search-continues-for-15-missing-after-flash-flood-destruction-two-deaths-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/grand-canyon-search-continues-for-15-missing-after-flash-flood-destruction-two-deaths-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Canyon search continues for 15 missing after flash flood destruction, two deaths – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

news Alerts
There are no new alerts at this time
Federal and state authorities were searching for 15 missing hikers and backpackers Monday after a devastating weekend flash flood pummeled the lower edge of the Grand Canyon, killing at least two people.
The National Park Service and local rescue agencies were conducting their search after having evacuated dozens of visitors by Sunday, including several who were rescued by helicopter from a remote section of the park inaccessible by vehicle. And authorities are bracing for another round of potentially ruinous climate conditions, officials said.
The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered from Crystal Rapids on the Colorado River, the park service said Sunday evening. Officials have not released his name.
It was not immediately clear when the second body was found. That victim\u2019s details were not released.
Texas chiropractor John Giusti, 46, died in the flood, his family and the families of two other people who are missing said Monday.
Giusti and the two men who are missing, Brent Rosenkranz and Timothy Smith, were friends who had been looking forward to the trip, the three families said. Exploring the Grand Canyon had been a longtime dream for Giusti, his family said. He had a wife and three daughters.
\u201cTo 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,\u201d his wife, Janet Giusti, said in a statement.
Giusti promoted his Grand Canyon trip on social media for his patients and said he would provide stretching, hydration and chiropractic tips to followers.
Less than a day before the flash flood, he posted a selfie and other landscape shots from his trip. \u201cDay one Arrived at the Grand Canyon,\u201d he wrote.
About 7 million people were under flood watches Monday, covering a massive swath of the Southwest from southern Arizona to northern Colorado. The area includes the Grand Canyon and stretches west into Utah, according to weather projections.
The most severe threat was just north of the Grand Canyon.
Phantom Ranch, a historic lodge at the bottom of Grand Canyon National Park, and a nearby trail were considered primary danger zones after the flooding. Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground and a large section of the North Kaibab Trail were closed Monday, and as much as 40% of the Transcanyon Waterline had been affected, officials said.
The 12 \u00bd-mile pipeline is the park\u2019s main water supply system, and much of it was damaged or destroyed. Administrators said there was damage to the Transcanyon Waterline, \u201cleaving the park with limited water reserves.\u201d
As a result, campgrounds were without water, and fires were prohibited beginning Monday. \u201cVisitors and residents are asked to conserve water as the park assesses flood damage and works to stabilize the water system,\u201d the park service wrote on X<\/a>.
Construction of a modernized pipeline has been underway since 2023 in the vicinity of Phantom Ranch, a $208 million project that has been interrupted by the natural disaster.
Park service officials said all footbridges along Bright Angel Creek were destroyed in the flooding that began Saturday, eliminating all crossings for hikers. Campsites and hiking paths in the vicinity were closed until further notice.
Images show rivers of muddy water barreling through lowlands, carrying cabins away from campsites, along with branches and other debris.
Evacuated visitors were still reeling from the experience.
David Gregory told NBC News that he crossed a footbridge to safety from Phantom Ranch before flooding wrecked the structure. He was then airlifted out of the area.
\u201cIt was kind of crazy hearing after that the bridge that we crossed was wiped out \u2014 kind of makes you think that maybe we should have been in more of a panic,\u201d he said after he was taken to safety with about 50 other people.
Another video showed a man on a footbridge marveling at the natural disaster under his feet.
\u201cWe\u2019re cooked!\u201d the man said.
The park service was asking for the public\u2019s assistance in identifying anyone who may have been traveling through the affected area.
\u201cMy heart is with the families and loved ones of every person unaccounted for after the flash flooding at the Grand Canyon,\u201d Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs wrote on X<\/a>.
Hobbs said the state Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and Coconino County Emergency Management were assisting the park service in its search.
Rich Rudow, 61, an experienced canyoneer who has been exploring the Grand Canyon for nearly 40 years, said an area known as \u201cThe Box\u201d near Phantom Ranch would have been especially dangerous for hikers during the flash flood.
\u201cThe Box\u201d is a roughly 2-mile section of trail along Bright Angel Canyon that is very narrow and would have been effectively inescapable when the flash flood came through because it is encapsulated by tall rock walls.
\u201cThere\u2019s no way to climb up and get above floodwater,\u201d Rudow said. \u201cYou\u2019re trapped in that particular area.\u201d
Park experts know that \u201cthis is the most dangerous area for this kind of event\u201d and that it\u2019s \u201can area you cannot escape,\u201d Rudow added.
Satellite GPS devices that travelers can use for emergency alerts may not have been useful within \u201cThe Box\u201d because high cliff walls can block signals and messages may have been delayed, he said.
Rudow was in the park during evacuations over the weekend and was there again Monday photographing incoming storms. He spoke to two workers on the pipeline construction project who told him their lodging and worksite materials were washed away.
\u201cEverything that was being used in the construction project blew into the river, including the cabins they were staying in,\u201d Rudow said.
Last year, there were 11 deaths in Grand Canyon National Park, nearly 850 medical service incidents and about 230 search-and-rescue efforts, according to a National Park Summary.
The flash flood that hit Phantom Ranch was particularly bad, Rudow said.
\u201cI\u2019ve seen hundreds of flash floods in Grand Canyon National Park \u2014 literally hundreds,\u201d Rudow said. \u201cThis is uncharacteristically large, larger than anything I\u2019ve seen personally.\u201d
Shayna Jacobs is a national reporter for NBC News digital.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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