18-year-old Grand Canyon hiker dies after heat distress call

Updated June 6, 2026, 11:59 a.m. MT

An 18-year-old hiker who experienced heat-related symptoms while on a day hike to the bottom of the Grand Canyon died after rangers responded to calls for help June 3, park officials said.

The hiker was traveling from the South Rim to the Colorado River and back along the Bright Angel Trail, according to a June 6 news release from the National Park Service.

He was below Havasupai Gardens when the Grand Canyon National Park Regional Communications Center received reports at about 1:40 p.m. that he needed help, the release said.

Rangers found him about 30 feet below the trail in a remote area near Garden Creek, park officials said.

Rangers performed lifesaving measures and coordinated a helicopter rescue, but those efforts were unsuccessful and the victim later died.

The hiker’s name was being withheld pending notification of his family.

The incident remains under investigation with the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office, which will determine the official cause of death, park officials said.

Park officials said no additional information was available. Officials had not said whether he was hiking alone or who called for help.

Recent deaths at the Grand Canyon

The death came less than a month after the body of 26-year-old Arizona State University student Sandarsh Krishna was found below the South Rim near Verkamp’s Visitor Center, after he had been missing for nearly two weeks.

Krishna’s death remained under investigation by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office as of May 12, and his cause of death had not been released.