Park rangers recovered human remains along the Colorado River on Monday, weeks after flash flooding at Grand Canyon National Park killed two people and left another missing.
A National Park Service spokesperson wrote in an email to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that rangers recovered the remains from Crystal Rapid, within the park about 160 miles east of Las Vegas. The remains were transferred to the Coconino County medical examiner’s office.
It was not immediately clear whether the remains were connected to the search for Timothy Smith, the only hiker still missing after the Aug. 29 flash flood tore through trails and campgrounds and forced the evacuation of more than 80 people.
Smith’s friends, John Giusti, 46, and Brent Rosenkranz, 42, were killed, and their bodies were recovered shortly after the flood. All three men were from Granbury, Texas, about 70 miles southwest of Dallas, though Smith had recently moved to Wyoming.
Smith’s wife, Carrie Smith, acknowledged the news early Tuesday on Facebook, asking for prayers.
“We ask that you continue to pray alongside us,” she wrote. “God is good and loves us unconditionally through every step of life.”
Flooding severely damaged the Transcanyon Waterline, which supplies water to millions of visitors to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim and about 1,600 residents of Grand Canyon Village. Officials said last week that the park avoided the worst-possible damage and the water service could be restored within weeks.
Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
