Visiting hiker dies in flash flood in Arizona canyon

PAGE, Ariz. — Authorities are investigating the death of a Kentucky woman who was caught in a flash flood in a canyon near the Arizona-Utah border.

Coconino County Sheriff’s officials said they received a call Saturday evening about a possible drowning at Labyrinth Canyon on Lake Powell.

They said 43-year-old Heather Rutledge of Louisville was hiking the canyon Saturday afternoon with her husband and three sons when they were all caught in a flash flood.

Authorities said Rutledge’s husband and children survived, but the woman’s body wasn’t recovered until Sunday due to heavy debris in the water.

The body was turned over to the county medical examiner to determine the cause of death.

Labyrinth Canyon is a boat-accessed slot canyon located in Lake Powell. The mouth of the canyon is in Utah, but the rest is on the Arizona side of the state line.