Body of woman swept away in Grand Canyon flash flood found

The body of a Grand Canyon National Park visitor swept away in a flash flood was found in the Colorado River late Sunday morning, park officials said.

Chenoa Nickerson, 33, was from Gilbert, Arizona, the National Park Service said in a statement Sunday. She was swept away Thursday along with her husband, who was rescued by rafters, NBC affiliate KPNX of Phoenix reported.

In a statement sent to the station Sunday, her family confirmed the news and said, "Our hearts are heavy with grief."

Nickerson's body was discovered about 11:30 a.m. near river mile 176 by those aboard a boat used for guided tours of the Colorado River, according to the park service statement and a spokesperson who responded by email.

The location of the discovery is nearly 20 miles from where she was reported missing, in the area of Havasu Canyon, according to the park service.

She was swept into Havasu Creek, according to an earlier statement, about a half-mile from its confluence with the river, and park officials had feared she ended up in the continental waterway.

The flash flood struck about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, the park service said. The area is subjected to late-summer thunderstorms every year, and this week another chance for rain was forecast for Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Some hikers in the area were stranded above and below nearby Beaver Falls and were rescued with the help of a helicopter, the park service said.

KPNX reported that 100 people were ultimately rescued.

The family's statement thanked first responders and others who pitched in to find Nickerson.

"Our family would like to express our sincere and endless gratitude to the men and women of the National Park Service Search and Rescue team for their tireless, selfless, and courageous efforts," the statement said.

The Havasupai Tribe said in a statement Sunday that it was sending "heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Chenoa Nickerson."

After the flash flood, the tribe shuttered nearby Havasupai Falls, a move supported by Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis, the community said in a statement.