Missing woman Chenoa Nickerson, 33, found dead after flash flooding near Grand Canyon

The body of a woman missing for three days has been found after she was swept up in a flash flood near the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

Chenoa Nickerson, 33, was discovered by a commercial river trip on the Colorado River about 20 miles downstream of where she disappeared, the US National Park Service said in a statement Sunday.

Nickerson, from the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, was swept into Havasu Creek without a life jacket on Thursday, the park service said - describing how she was swallowed by the tributary of the Colorado River, around where it it enters the National Park.

The aerial, ground and rescue vehicle search Sunday saw more than 100 other successfully pulled from the floodwaters, and was concentrated where Havasu Creek and the Colorado River meet, the park service said.

The creek also runs through Havasupai tribal lands where tribal leaders had asked Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs for flood assistance, after which the the state provided assets such as a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter to get the job done.

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The body of Chenoa Nickerson, 33, was found by a commercial river trip on the Colorado River Sunday

The hiker was swallowed by rising water near Havasu Creek without a life jacket on Thursday. The floodwaters are seen tearing through the area here

The Arizona National Guard confirmed on Saturday the Blackhawk helped evacuate 104 tourists and tribal members out of a canyon, after which he Havasupai Tribal Council said it had closed its lands to tourists until further notice.

'The Council is actively engaged in safely evacuating those tourists that were in Supai at the time of the flooding,' The Havasupai Tribe, which gives hikers access to the area where the falls are located, said in their statement.

 They added how the tribe was still working to evacuate the hikers affected by the flash flooding. 

As for Nickerson's family, her mother and sister have yet to comment on the discovery, but had been appealing for information about the hikers whereabouts for the past several days.

In one post to social media, her mom wrote: 'Does anyone have a list of names of the hikers that are with the SAR after the flash floods yesterday?

Her sister Dena, meanwhile, said: 'Chenoa and her husband Andrew Nickerson were hiking in the Havasupai area on 08/22/24. 

'Andrew reached out to his father via satellite phone on 08/22/2024 at 18:16 reporting that Chenoa and him were caught in a flash flood and that they were both swept away and that Andrew was rescued. 

'He said he is at a safe spot camping with a rafting crew who rescued him and that NPS SAR was on sight as of last night. Please help us. We are desperate.'

Her husband Andrew, seen here with Nickerson, was found by local rafters, along with more than 100 others who were swept up by the water

The creek runs through Havasupai tribal lands where tribal leaders had asked Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs for flood assistance, after which the the state provided assets such as a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter to get the job done. Nickerson was found on around 11:30 am

Officials over the weekend confirmed that Andrew was among those found by local rafters an retrieved from the floodwaters, before the search for his spouse ended tragically.

She was found on around 11:30 am about 18.7 miles from where her husband lost track of her, the NPS said.

'The victim was discovered by a commercial river trip near river mile 176 in the Colorado River,' the agency said.

'Park rangers responded and recovered the body, which was transported to the rim by helicopter and transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner.'

The NPS and Coconino County Medical Examiner said they are both still investigating the incident and Nickerson's death.