Authorities searched Grand Canyon National Park on Monday for a teenager and his stepgrandmother, the wife of one of the founders of a hiking boot company, who were swept away as they tried to cross a creek during a family trip in a remote part of the northern Arizona park.
Two fellow hikers in their group alerted officials over the weekend by setting off an emergency GPS locator beacon in the backcountry below the canyon’s North Rim, said Chief Ranger Matt Vandzura of the National Park Service.
This undated photo provided by Mark McOmie shows Jackson Standefer. (Mark McOmie via AP)
He said the 14-year-old boy and 62-year-old woman lost their footing and were swept away Saturday in Tapeats Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River that runs through the Arizona landmark.
The McCallie School, an all-boys school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, said one of its students, eighth-grader Jackson Standefer, and his stepgrandmother were swept downstream.
“The entire McCallie community sends its prayers to the Standefer family and all those close to Jackson as we all hope for a positive ending to this situation,” the school said in a statement.