Search teams locate Valley hiker who’d gone missing at Grand Canyon

PHOENIX – A West Valley hiker who’d been missing for two days at the Grand Canyon was located Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

National Park Service search and rescue personnel using a helicopter found Arturo Hernandez around 2 p.m. along the Hermit Trail near Breezy Point.

The Surprise resident was in stable condition while waiting to be evacuated by helicopter, the service said in a press release.

Hernandez, 48, had last been seen east of the Hermit Creek Camp around 11 a.m. Sunday, the park service said earlier Tuesday.

Hernandez, 48, is 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighs 185 pounds, with brown eyes, short gray hair and a mustache. He was last seen wearing a teal T-shirt with black shorts and black Nike shoes.

At 4:30 a.m. Monday, park officials received a report that two hikers on the Hermit Trail were overdue to return. One of them safely returned to the trailhead a few hours later, but Hernandez remained missing.

Park rangers hiked the trail and conducted an aerial search Monday but couldn’t find him.

Tuesday’s search operations included a National Park Service helicopter and six ground teams made up of 12 people.

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