3 hikers die in Grand Canyon National Park in the course of a month

Portrait of Coleby Phillips Coleby Phillips
Arizona Republic

On Sunday, an unidentified 50-year-old man from Texas was found dead in the Grand Canyon, according to the National Park Service.

The incident marks the third fatality in the national park since late June.

While the cause of death remains under investigation, multiple excessive heat warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service in the past several weeks, with hotter-than-normal temperatures rising above 110 degrees statewide.

While trails remain open, park rangers strongly advise hikers to avoid the trails during in the middle of the day, as temperatures in exposed areas throughout the canyon can rise as high as 120 degrees, according to park officials.

Additionally, on July 4, the weather service had issued an excessive heat warning for Grand Canyon elevations below 4,000 feet.

The hiker, who was originally from San Angelo, Texas, was found unresponsive around 2 p.m. on the Bright Angel Trail and approximately 100 feet below the trailhead, park officials said.

Despite life-saving attempts from bystanders and medical personnel, the man died some time later.

According to park officials, the man had been attempting to reach the rim from an overnight stay at Havasupai Gardens before his death.

On the evening of June 29, another Texas man was found semiconscious before becoming unresponsive and dying along the River Trail near the bottom of the canyon. The man, 69-year-old Scott Sims, was attempting to reach his lodging site in Phantom Ranch for an overnight stay via the South Kaibab Trail.

Another fatality on the Bright Angel Trail occurred in the early morning hours on June 16, when park officials discovered an unresponsive 41-year-old man around half a mile away from the Pipe Creek River Resthouse. The man had been lodging overnight at the Bright Angel Campground, also in Phantom Ranch, park officials said.

The cause of death for both hikers has not yet been determined, the park service stated.

The Grand Canyon National Park attracts millions of visitors each year and, despite an average of 12 deaths per year, many hikers and trail enthusiasts choose to descend thousands of feet beneath the rim of the canyon to its depths.

According to park officials, heat can increase by 5.5 degrees with every 1,000 feet lost in elevation, with the park actively cautioning guests to avoid hiking during "dangerously hot" conditions.

Park data also revealed that over 250 visitors are rescued from the Grand Canyon each year, with nearly 200 deaths occurring between 2007 to March 2024.

Additionally, park rangers estimate around two heat-related deaths on average per year in the national park.