Hiker found dead along Bright Angel Trail at Grand Canyon
Feb 21, 2023, 5:15 PM
Shafts of light pass over the Bright Angel Fault inside the Grand Canyon early June 10, 2009 in the Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
(Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
PHOENIX — A 56-year-old hiker died on Bright Angel Trail at Grand Canyon National Park last week, authorities said.
The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call of an unresponsive hiker on Friday at approximately 3 p.m., the National Park Service announced in a press release.
NPS search and rescue personnel located the man from Pewaukee, Wisc. below Havasupai Gardens. Crews pronounced the individual dead on the scene.
He was attempting to hike to the Colorado River and back in one day, NPS said.
NPS and the Coconino County Medical Examiner opened an investigation into the fatality.
Bright Angel Trail is the most popular path into the Grand Canyon. It is a 7.8-mile trail from the rim to the water and has a 4,460-foot elevation change.
The national park does not recommend hiking down to the river and back in one day due to the distance and dramatic changes in elevation and temperature.
No additional information was made immediately available.
