KANE COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) — Search and rescue teams have located the last of three hikers who had been unaccounted for since Monday at a southern Utah canyon. One hiker was rescued while another was found dead on Tuesday. The water at the canyon had reportedly risen to dangerous levels over the weekend.
According to Alan Alldredge with the Kane County Sheriff’s Office, the last hiker was found dead a few miles south of the Paria River in Arizona around 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15. He was part of a three-person group heading to Lees Ferry at the Colorado River.
Deputies received a call on Monday, March 13, reporting three men in their mid-40s and -50s who had not returned from their hiking trip at the Buckskin Gulch, a slot canyon located right at the Utah-Arizona border. Their trip, which began on Friday, March 10, was reportedly supposed to end on Sunday, March 12.
Kane County Search and Rescue, along with a Utah Department of Public Safety helicopter, began searching for the three men beginning Monday morning. Camping debris reportedly led crews to locate one of the three hikers. He was hoisted out of the canyon by helicopter and transported to a local hospital in an unknown condition.
During this search, another two calls came in, resulting in a total of 11 people being airlifted out of Buckskin Gulch due to severe weather and flooding in the canyon.
The identities of the two victims will not be immediately released.
