More than 100 rescued after Grand Canyon flash floods, search continues for missing hiker

By Rebekah Riess, Zoe Sottile and Chris Boyette

(CNN) — The Arizona National Guard rescued more than 100 people from a flood-hit area of ​​Grand Canyon National Park as search efforts continued Sunday for a missing hiker.

Guard members used a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter to evacuate 104 tourists and tribal members from a canyon on Havasupai tribal lands in the park Saturday, Arizona National Guard video showed.

Flooding triggered by monsoon storms on Thursday forced local authorities to close the area to tourists and prompted several emergency evacuations.

Tribal leaders also closed the remote village of Supai, located 8 miles (13 kilometers) below the rim of the Grand Canyon, the Havasupai Tribal Council said in a news release Saturday.

Flash flooding inside Grand Canyon National Park swept hiker Chenoa Nickerson, 33, into Havasu Creek on Thursday, according to the National Park Service, and search and rescue operations were ongoing Sunday.

Nickerson, of Gilbert, Arizona, may have been swept away by flash flooding near the Colorado River confluence, according to a news release issued Friday by the park service.

Nickerson was not wearing a life jacket at the time, the statement said.

Several hikers were stranded during the flash flooding Thursday afternoon, the park service said. A rescue flight was sent to retrieve the stranded hikers up and down Beaver Falls, but Nickerson remains missing, the statement said.

The National Park Service described Nickerson as a woman, 5 feet 8 inches tall, 190 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information about her is asked to contact the National Park Service's Investigation Services Hotline.

Her sister, Tamara Morales, said, “We remain hopeful that she will be found safe and sound,” according to CNN affiliate KNXV.

Nickerson's husband was rescued safely, Morales told KNXV.

“We love her very much and we are not giving up on her,” Morales said of his sister. “We want all efforts to be focused on searching and finding her sister safely.”

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has mobilized the Arizona National Guard to assist with rescue efforts on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which is surrounded by Grand Canyon National Park, according to KNXV. CNN meteorologists say no rain is expected in the area in the coming days.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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