2 Grand Canyon Hikers Found Safe
POSTED: 7:18 am MST May 28,
2008
UPDATED: 5:45 am MST May 29,
2008
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. -- A Salt Lake City couple who went missing last week in the Grand Canyon National Park has been found and evacuated to the South Rim.Alan Humphrey, 39, and his wife, 35-year-old Iris Faraklas, made plans to spend a week backpacking along the Royal Arch route, a difficult 45-mile loop in the far west region of the park, and were expected to arrive in Prescott last Friday, park officials said.The couple was reported missing when they failed to reach Prescott.Park officials located the couple's car Monday evening at the South Bass trailhead but found no sign of Humphrey or Faraklas.An air search of the area and interviews with other hikers had turned up nothing.The pair was found around 5 p.m. Wednesday by a National Park Service search team in the Royal Arch route area.They were evacuated to the South Rim helibase where they refused any medical treatment and were reunited with family members.It appears the two took a wrong turn, but that they did what they were supposed to do by staying together and finding shade during the day, said Maureen Oltrogge with the Grand Canyon National Park.Search efforts included aerial searches, three teams of ground searchers and one technical rope team.The Royal Arch route, while popular with more experienced Grand Canyon travelers, is a difficult route, Oltrogge said.Like many of the routes in the Grand Canyon, completing the loop requires route finding, canyoneering skills and traveling through areas with limited water, she said.ELSEWHERE ON KPHO.COM: A group of wrestlers will head to Las Vegas next month for Olympic trials while their coach stays behind in an Arizona jail cell, the victim of what he calls a politically motivated vendetta. CLICK HERE for details. MORE SLIDESHOWS: From the bizarre to the tragic to late-breaking news, visit the KPHO.com slideshow section and click away! CLICK HERE for images.
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