Missing North Carolina hiker found dead in Grand Canyon after going on solo trek

Police have recovered the body of a North Carolina man who was declared missing Tuesday after disappearing while on a solo hike in Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park.

The National Park Service has yet to release the man’s name or reveal what town he hails from but did note he was 60 years old.

A search helicopter located the body on Wednesday morning, near the park’s Thunder River Trail.


The entrance sign for Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
Police have recovered the body of a North Carolina man who disappeared while on a solo hike in Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park. Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The man had embarked on a solo multi-day backpacking trip from Thunder River to Deer Creek, one of the park’s most difficult backcountry trails. The park service did not say what day he set out for the 30-mile hike.

Relatives reported the man missing Tuesday when he failed to check in with them.

A cause and manner of death are still pending.

The unidentified man is now the 14th person to die this year in the park, which sees upwards of 4.7 million visitors each year.


A view of part of the Grand Canyon in Arizona shows cliffs towering over a trail.
The solo backpacker was reported missing after he failed to check in with family. NPS Photo/M. Graden

Eleven people died in the park in 2023. Park officials said on average, there are between 10 to 15 deaths in the Grand Canyon each year.

Last weekend, police located the body of an Arizona woman who disappeared in Grand Canyon National Park following a flash flood days earlier.

Chenoa Nickerson, 33, from the Phoenix suburb of Gilbert, was discovered by a group rafting down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon on Sunday.

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