K9 Teams Endure 109-Degree Heat Searching for a Missing Grand Canyon Hiker

The search continues for a man who authorities believed to have perished in a deadly flash flood event in the Grand Canyon over two weeks ago. Here is a look at the latest on the search for the missing hiker.

K9 Units on Site at Grand Canyon to Search for Missing Hiker

Search dogs and their humans have been combing the Grand Canyon looking for Timothy Smith, a hiker who is presumed dead after a massive flash flood ripped through Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch on August 29. The 53-year-old was hiking with two of his friends when the flash flood swept through the canyon. The bodies of John Guisti, age 46, and Brent Rosenkranz, age 42, were both recovered within the first few days of the recovery mission.

The specialized K9 teams are sifting through the flood debris in hopes of finding a sign of Smith and to bring closure to his family. It has been a brutal search operation, with temperatures that have reached as high as 109 degrees on the canyon floor.

The Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue Unit (BORSTAR) is heading up the search mission, leaning on K9s and their trained handlers to search along the banks of the Colorado River. Helicopters have been used to send crews into the most remote areas of the search area.

Local Search Teams Join in on the Effort

In addition to BORSTAR, local specialized teams have also helped in the search. For example, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue team deployed two K9s and their handlers to the area. Sue Haveruk and K9 Whiskey teamed up with Ursula Ritchie and K9 Alto on September 9 to join in the search. The teams spent over 24 hours looking through the debris left in the wake of the flood.

The teams were forced to spend the night on the canyon floor on the 9th and into the 10th after they were unable to be extracted from the site. Fortunately, the crew was well prepared with the necessary water, food, and gear. The search teams reported sharing a meal with the electrical crews working to repair the damaged infrastructure.

According to Cowboy State Daily, the K9 crews have been focused on searching the delta region near Phantom Ranch over the last several days. Meanwhile, the river patrol teams have been searching the area downstream along the mighty Colorado.

Triggered by the annual North American Monsoon season moisture, the late-August flood unleashed a torrent of water, rocks, mud, and other debris through the canyon. Rescuers were faced with numerous challenges as almost all of the footbridges across Bright Angel Creek were washed out by the raging floodwaters.

Grand Canyon National Park officials confirmed that about 62 people were evacuated from lower North Kaibab Trail and Phantom Ranch in the early stages of the response. Approximately 40% of the Transcanyon Waterline was damaged, cutting off crucial water supply to the park.

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