60-year-old solo backpacker from North Carolina found dead in Grand Canyon, rangers say
A 60-year-old backpacker was found dead in Arizona’s Grand Canyon after a worried family member never heard from him during his hike, park officials said.
The North Carolina man was reported missing at about 4 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 27, the National Park Service said in an Aug. 29 news release.
Rescuers searched for him by helicopter the next day and discovered his body at about 9:45 a.m. “along a route connecting Lower Tapeats Camp and Deer Creek Camp,” park officials said.
He had set out on a solo multi-day backpacking trip to hike the Thunder River Trail-Deer Creek loop, park officials said.
That loop is about 23 miles long, according to AllTrails. It’s described as a challenging route with an elevation gain of 6,604 feet.
The medical examiner and park officials are investigating.
His death comes days after an 80-year-old man died in the Grand Canyon after being thrown off a boat, McClatchy News reported.
He was on a commercial river trip Aug. 25 near Fossil Rapid on the Colorado River, officials said.
Before that, a 33-year-old woman died when she was caught in a flash flood Aug. 22, McClatchy News reported. She had been hiking the canyon with her husband in Havasu Creek when the two were swept away.
This story was originally published August 30, 2024 at 12:57 PM with the headline "60-year-old solo backpacker from North Carolina found dead in Grand Canyon, rangers say."
