“Authorities Recover Body of Missing Arizona Woman Swept Away by Grand Canyon Flash Flood”

Recovery of Chenoa Nickerson’s Body

The body of Chenoa Nick­er­son, an Ari­zona woman who went miss­ing in Grand Canyon Nation­al Park after a flash flood, has been recov­ered by authorities. 

Nick­er­son­’s body was dis­cov­ered by a group raft­ing down the Col­orado Riv­er on Sun­day morning.

Tragic Incident and Search Efforts

Nick­er­son, 33, from Gilbert, Ari­zona, was hik­ing along Hava­su Creek when the flash flood struck on Thursday. 

She was swept into the creek and not wear­ing a life jack­et at the time. Park rangers and res­cue teams had been search­ing for Nick­er­son since the incident.

Statement from Nickerson’s Family

In a state­ment, Nick­er­son­’s fam­i­ly expressed their grief over the trag­ic loss, say­ing “Our hearts are heavy with grief.” They thanked the searchers and sup­port­ers, and pledged to ensure Nick­er­son­’s “spir­it con­tin­ues to shine bright­ly” and that her mem­o­ry will nev­er fade.

Evacuation and Rescue Operations

Over 100 peo­ple, includ­ing Nick­er­son­’s hus­band, were safe­ly evac­u­at­ed from the area around Hava­su Creek after the flash flood. Res­cue teams, includ­ing the Ari­zona Nation­al Guard, worked to evac­u­ate hik­ers who were strand­ed by the flood­wa­ters and washed-out bridges.

Ongoing Investigation

The med­ical exam­in­er’s office and park ser­vice are con­tin­u­ing to inves­ti­gate the cir­cum­stances sur­round­ing Nick­er­son­’s death. The Hava­su­pai Tribe’s reser­va­tion, where the inci­dent occurred, is one of the most remote in the con­ti­nen­tal U.S.