Body of Missing Arizona Woman Found in Grand Canyon National Park

The body of a missing Arizona woman was found Sunday after flash floods swept through Grand Canyon National Park.

Chenoa Nickerson, 33, was last seen Thursday before a flash flood struck Havasu Canyon, about 30 miles west of Grand Canyon Village, Arizona, according to the National Park Service's press release. She was 100 yards above where the Havasu Creek and the Colorado River meet and was not wearing a life jacket, the release said.

A commercial river trip discovered Nickerson's body in the Colorado River three days after she went missing. Park rangers used a helicopter to recover and transport her body. It was later taken to the Coconino County Medical Examiner.

During the three days she was missing, the National Park Service conducted a search and rescue operation.

The National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner are conducting an investigation.

Nickerson was with her husband when the flash floods hit and the two were separated. Floods also swept away her husband, but local rafters later found him, family members told KPHO-TV.

Nickerson and Husband Swept Away, Reports Say

The couple, who was visiting the area from Gilbert, a Phoenix suburb, hiked in the Supai Village area, located within Havasu Canyon on the Havasupai Indian Reservation.

The area is popular among tourists who are attracted to the area's waterfalls and heavenly blue pools.

100 People Needed to be Rescued

A video from the Arizona National Guard shows 104 tourists and tribal members being evacuated out of the Havasupai Falls area, around 5 miles from where Nickerson was last seen, due to the flood waters.

Evacuees were airlifted out of the area by a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, according to the video description that was posted.

This was the first flash flood to hit Havasu Creek in 2024, according to Joelle Baird, a park service spokesperson.

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