GRAND CANYON, AZ -- Officials say an 18-year-old with a group of hikers that ran out of water at the Grand Canyon has died.
Grand Canyon National Park spokesperson Shannan Marcak said rangers got a call about 8:15 a.m. on Thursday from a National Park Service river trip that a group had waved them down from the cliffs above the Colorado River to report they were out of water and needed help.
National Park Service rangers then got a report that one of the hikers was dead.
A park paramedic, flown by helicopter to the scene, found seven hikers about half way down the Shinumo Wash Route.
Marcak said the body of an 18-year-old Native American male, was located approximately one mile up the wash from the rest of the party.
The immediate needs of the stranded hikers were provided for until they could be flown by NPS helicopter to Highway 89 where they were met and assisted by Navajo Nation emergency crews, according to Marcak.
The body of the dead hiker was retrieved and also transported by helicopter to the highway where it was turned over to the Coconino County Medical Examiner.
The name of the hiker is being held pending positive identification and notification of next of kin, according to Marcak.
There was no word on how the hiker died.
The NPS and Navajo Nation will be conducting a joint investigation into the incident.
