A Colorado man was discovered lifeless Sunday within the Grand Canyon whereas on a gaggle river journey, marking the seventh fatality within the nationwide park since July 31.
Grand Canyon Nationwide Park officers acquired a name early Sunday morning reporting a fatality at Poncho’s Kitchen, part of the Canyon close to the 137th mile of the Colorado River, in accordance with a information launch.
The deceased was recognized as Patrick Horton, a 59-year-old from Salida, Colorado who was visiting the Canyon on a “non-commercial” river journey, park service officers mentioned within the launch.
His physique was discovered by different members of his occasion on the tenth day of their journey.
The Grand Canyon has had a turbulent summer time with six deaths in August alone, starting from a lady being swept away by a flash flood to an unlawful BASE bounce gone mistaken. Three individuals died within the first week of August alone.
The park recorded 11 deaths in 2023, 12 in 2022, a staggering 23 in 2021 and 13 in 2020. The typical often sticks to someplace between 10 to fifteen deaths for your entire yr, park officers mentioned — with 2021 being an outlier.
Horton’s dying marks the fifteenth fatality of 2024, nearing the excessive finish of the annual common.
From 2014 to 2019, 103 individuals died in Grand Canyon Nationwide Park, in accordance with the NPS mortality dashboard. Of these fatalities, 49 have been a results of medical emergencies or points, together with 37 deaths that concerned no bodily exercise.
Throughout all nationwide parks within the US, a mean of 358 deaths have been reported annually throughout this era, placing the Grand Canyon Nationwide Park on the decrease finish of the spectrum.
The Nationwide Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s workplace are nonetheless investigating Horton’s dying, NPS mentioned. It isn’t clear how he died or when.
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