Park personnel were contacted around sunset on Sunday, May 27th, regarding an overdue group of day hikers on the Grandview Trail. Eleven members of a group holding a family reunion had headed down the trail. The hikers, who ranged in age from 17 to 34, planned to hike to Horseshoe Mesa and possibly go on to the Colorado River. That night, park personnel established containment points around the area, conducted hasty searches, and interviewed other backpackers. The inner canyon high temperature for the day reached 100 degrees at Phantom Ranch. During the day, seven other SAR operations were coordinated by SAR shift ranger Kristin Fey, including three medevacs. The search for the hikers resumed on Monday and was conducted by helicopter. The hikers were later located by searchers in the Hance Creek drainage. They had walked to Hance Rapids, normally a two-day journey, then had bivouacked there for the night. All were okay. Incidents like this one have previously resulted in hiker fatalities. It’s probable that they survived because of several factors drinking creek water, wearing hats for sun protection, eating cactus, and staying together. [Ken Phillips, IC, GRCA, 5/28]

On the evening of May 24th, park dispatch received a call from an emergency satellite phone at Tuweep, a remote North Rim location. The caller reported that 16 hikers were in trouble on the difficult Lava Falls route. The group, all of whom were from Lehigh College in Pennsylvania, were part of a Horizon Training Services advanced leadership forum. Temperatures during the day had been over 100 degrees. Six made it out and contacted a visitor, who made the call. Two of the six had altered levels of consciousness; many of the ten hikers below the rim were reportedly in and out of consciousness and others were vomiting. North Rim rangers responded by vehicle, but it took three hours to arrive on scene. They contacted one of the remaining ten hikers, who had made it out. He reported that the other nine had hiked back to the river to spend the night and that there were no immediate life-threatening medical problems. At first light, an Arizona DPS helicopter flew all nine back to the trailhead. One was then flown to Flagstaff Medical Center with a knee injury. None of the remaining 15 required medical attention. Over 20 interagency rescuers responded from the park, Mojave County and Colorado City and were supported by three helicopters, one each from the park, DPS, and Classic Lifeguard Helicopter. [Jeff Martinelli, IC, GRCA, 5/26]

A 47-year-old Belgian man collapsed on the Tonto Trail two miles west of the Bass Trail intersection on June 5th. His companions hiked to the river to get water and asked members of a river trip for help. Rangers received the satellite call for help at 4:30 p.m. The caller said that the man was unconscious and barely breathing. Rangers in the park’s helicopter were responding to another medical incident at the time; the helicopter was diverted and landed near the Belgian hiker within 20 minutes of receiving the initial call. The hiker was pronounced dead at the scene. He was a member of a party of four that had begun their hike into the canyon on May 30th. The cause of death was heart failure due to heat and stress. [Jennifer Flynn, IC, GRCA, 6/6 and 6/15]

On May 25th, rangers received a report that 61-year-old John O’Donnell had failed to return from a day hike in the canyon. His cousin advised that he planned on hiking down the South Kaibab trail, across the Tonto trail , and back up the Bright Angel trail. O’Donnell had only two small water bottles, no food, no flashlight, no map and no extra clothing. Temperatures in the canyon that day ranged from 111 degrees during the day to 102 degrees at night. Rangers established containment points at the South Kaibab and Bright Angel trailheads and swept the three trails. No sign of O’Donnell was found. An aerial search ensued on the following morning, but initial efforts were fruitless. Rangers familiar with the history of lost people in this area made a second flight of the area and this time spotted O’Donnell. He was found to be suffering from severe dehydration and was hallucinating. He had also been hiding from searchers, who he thought were "bad guys." O’Donnell had water in one of his bottles, but told rangers he hadn't drunk it because a man sitting next to him said it was bad water (O’Donnell was found alone). He was flown out and treated at a local medical facility. Doctors said that he would not have survived another day if he hadn’t been found. [Patrick Brasington, IC, GRCA, 6/12]

Park dispatch received a satellite phone call from Arizona Raft Adventures around noon on June 12th, reporting that one of their 30-foot motor rigs had wrapped up on rocks below Crystal Rapids. The raft’s prop had evidently shattered when it hit a rock on the upper portion of the rapid; the raft then drifted into the rocks. The park helicopter was diverted to the scene from a lower priority mission. Rangers found that the raft was stuck among several large rocks in the middle of the river, but that it was in a stable position and that none of the 17 persons on board was injured. The river flow at the time was a constant 8,000 cubic feet per second. A short-haul operation was deemed the most expeditious method for extracting passengers and crew. Two rescuers were short-hauled to the raft, where they briefed and rigged the passengers, who were then lifted to shore. They were flown from the bank to the South Rim by a helicopter that had been assigned to the Outlet Fire. Salvage operations were to be attempted by company personnel under the supervision of rangers. The river flow is projected to continue at 8,000 cfs through the summer; similar incidents are therefore anticipated. [Bil Vandergraff, GRCA, 6/14]