Grand Canyon, Ariz. At approximately 7:20 p.m. on Tuesday, July 21, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report that at least one young man, and possibly as many as three, were overdue from a backpacking trip at Grand Canyon National Park.

The young men are reported to have left on a trip to the Deer Creek/Thunder River area on Saturday after reading about the trip in a magazine. According to the reporting party, the father of one of the young men, his son had stated that he would be back on Monday, but did not return. Further investigation revealed that there were as many as four young men in the hiking party. All are in their early 20s, and all are believed to be students at Northern Arizona University. It was also determined that this group did not have a backcountry permit.

Today at approximately 7:30 a.m., rangers found the group�s car parked at the Bill Hall Trailhead which is located about half way between the North Rim developed area and Tuweep. A containment area was established at the exit points the young men might have used in the area, and an initial ground search was conducted at the Indian Hollow and Bill Hall Trailheads. A helicopter with three spotters also conducted an initial aerial search of the Tapeats and Deer Creek drainages as well as all trails in the area, but did not locate the young men. Additionally, all groups currently on the river were notified about the search and groups who have disembarked, but were on the river between Saturday and Tuesday, are being contacted to determine if the young men were seen in the vicinity of the river. Thus far, no one contacted on the trail or on the river has reported seeing the missing hikers.

No further details are available at this time. Additional details will be provided as they become available

-NPS-

Grand Canyon, Ariz. � Grand Canyon National Park search and rescue personnel are intensifying their search efforts as they re-asses who they are looking for.

On the evening of Tuesday, July 21, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report that at least one, and possibly as many as three young men were overdue from a backpacking trip to the Deer Creek/Thunder River area of Grand Canyon National Park. On Wednesday, Park Rangers found the car of Bryce Gillies, a student at Northern Arizona University (NAU), parked at the Bill Hall Trailhead which is located about half way between Tuweep and the developed area on the North Rim of the park.

Initial investigations included aerial passes over the trails and major drainages in the area, contacting river trips and other backpackers on the trail, and contacting Mr. Gillies friends and acquaintances to gather more information. Based on the information initially received during these investigations, concerns grew that there might be as many as four individuals in the party of missing men. However, investigators have now contacted most of the friends it was feared might be with him, and have concluded that Bryce Gillies most likely came to the park alone.

Bryce is 20 years old and is described as 5 feet 3 inches tall and 130 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He left for his trip into the canyon on Saturday, July 18, and left word that he would return on Monday, July 20. On Tuesday, July 21, when Mr. Gillies still had not returned, he was reported overdue.

Search and rescue efforts are now focused on locating a lone male backpacker in the Deer Creek/Thunder River area. One ground search team was inserted yesterday evening to begin a more thorough search of the area and two additional ground search teams are being inserted today. In addition, a helicopter will once again be searching aerially as weather permits. Additional rangers from Zion National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area are being brought in to assist with search efforts.

Anyone who believes they have seen Mr. Gillies since Saturday, July 18, is encouraged to contact the National Park Service at 928-638-7805.

-NPS-

Grand Canyon, Ariz. � At approximately 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 25, search teams found a body believed to be that of overdue backpacker Bryce Gillies in the Bonita Creek drainage on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

On Tuesday, July 21, the National Park Service (NPS) was notified that one or more hikers were overdue from a backpacking trip in Grand Canyon National Park. Initial efforts by investigators located the car of Bryce Gillies at the Bill Hall Trailhead on the North Rim of the park, and determined that only one person had gone on the backpacking trip.

With no backcountry permit to work from and no knowledge of Mr. Gillies specific plans, searchers began covering a large area from the Deer Creek drainage across Surprise Valley to the Tapeats Creek drainage and down to the river. Today, rescue personnel narrowed their search to the Bonita Creek drainage and surrounding area based on the discovery of personal items, including a backpack, in that vicinity.

At approximately 9:30 a.m., a search team, moving up Bonita Creek from its confluence with the Colorado River, found a body at the top of a 100 foot pour-off. The body, located less than one-half mile from the river confluence, has been presumptively identified as that of 20 year-old Bryce Gillies, a student at Northern Arizona University.

The body will be recovered by helicopter via long-line operation and transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner.

This multi-day search involved approximately 50 NPS personnel and volunteers from Grand Canyon National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Zion National Park.

-NPS-