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Search continues for Chenoa Nickerson, a woman missing after a flash flood of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park

SUPAI, Arizona — Search teams again combed the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park on Sunday for an Arizona woman who went missing after a flash flood days earlier.

National Park Service officials said Chenoa Nickerson, 33, was swept away by the current in Havasu Creek, above the Colorado River confluence, around 1:30 p.m. Thursday. She was not wearing a life jacket.

Nickerson, from Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix, was walking along Havasu Creek, about a half-mile from where it meets the Colorado River, when the flash flooding struck.

Nickerson's husband was among more than 100 people safely evacuated.

“Chenoa Nickerson remains missing,” Nickerson’s sister, Tamara Morales, posted on social media Sunday.

This photo shows Chenoa Nickerson of Gilbert, Arizona, who went missing at Grand Canyon National Park after being swept into a creek during a flash flood.

Tamara Morales via AP

“Attempts to locate Chenoa through her Apple Watch have been unsuccessful,” Morales added. “Don’t lose hope. She will be found.”

Park officials said the air, ground and motorboat searches Sunday focused on the confluence of Havasu Creek and the Colorado River.

Chenoa Nickerson spent the night at a campsite near the village of Supai on the Havasupai Reservation, deep in a gorge off the Grand Canyon.

The flooding trapped several hikers in the area above and below Beaver Falls, one of a series of typically blue-green waterfalls that draw tourists from around the world to the Havasupai Tribe reservation. The area is prone to flooding that turns its iconic waterfalls chocolate brown.

Other hikers reached the village, about 3.2 kilometers from the campsite, where they waited for their helicopter departure.

Gov. Katie Hobbs mobilized the Arizona National Guard, including Blackhawk helicopters, to help evacuate hikers from the village.

Guard officials said about 104 tribal members and tourists near Havasupai Falls have been evacuated since Thursday after floodwaters left them stranded.

The Havasupai Tribe's reservation is one of the most remote in the continental United States, accessible only by foot, mule or helicopter.

Helicopter evacuations began after bridges were washed away and rescuers deployed amid a series of towering waterfalls.

Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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