Third Visitor Announced Dead in Grand Canyon in Under Two Weeks

The Grand Canyon National Park has had a rough stretch to begin the month of August as three visitors have been found dead already.

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Though it has long been one of the top vacation destinations in the United States, the Grand Canyon National Park has had a nightmare start to the month of August with three visitors being found dead already.

On August 6, 2024, Grand Canyon park rangers recovered the third body from an unfortunate accident within a week.

A few days later, it was announced that park rangers had found the body of Albuquerque native Leticia A. Castillo, 20, from a depth of 150 ft.

She was believed to have entered the Grand Canyon on August 3. She was found at Twin Point Overlooks along Desert View Drive.

This came after two other accidental deaths within a week, capping off a brutal stretch for the park and its rangers.

"Since July 31, the Grand Canyon Search and Rescue team has handled three technical rescue recoveries. Despite facing inclement weather and hazardous terrain, the team has undertaken significant risks to complete these missions."

The first tragedy came on the morning of July 31 when the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report that a visitor fell from the rom of the Pipe Creek Overlook.

Rangers were able to recover the body of Abel Joseph Meija, 20, from a depth of 400 ft per a press release from the park.

Just a day later a BASE jumping accident unfortunately led to the death of Justin Guthrie, 43.

It's necessary to note that base jumping is very dangerous and has been outlawed by by park officials.

These tragedies shouldn't keep people from visiting the Grand Canyon National Park, but it is incredibly important to be safe when doing so.

A recent study from Fox Weather named the park as tied for the moniker of "most deadly" in the nation with one in every 503,000 people being at risk thanks to the alarming rates of accidents.

It is one of the most visited parks in the country, which does lead to more opportunities for things to go wrong. Accidents can happen at any moment, but staying prepared can help lower risks.