Woman Hiking With Husband and Three Sons Drowns in Arizona Canyon Flash Flood
A woman drowned when a flash flood in Arizona hit a canyon while she was hiking with her family over the weekend.
Heather Rutledge, 43, from Louisville, Kentucky, drowned at Labyrinth Canyon on Lake Powell, Arizona, on Saturday evening while hiking with her husband and three sons, according to a report from the Coconino County Sheriff's Office shared with CBS5.
The local police were called to the canyon on Saturday evening after receiving a call reporting a possible drowning at the site, but were unable to inspect Rutledge's body until Sunday morning due to the possibility of further flash flooding overnight.
The report said that Rutledge and her family were caught up in the flash flood on Saturday, causing her to be separated from her husband and sons during the incident.
Rutledge's family managed to locate and perform CPR on her when the floodwaters receded, but were unable to save her. They were not able to move her body so went back to a boat they had rented to try and get help.
However, once the family got back to the boat they discovered that it had been damaged by the flash flooding and were towed back to shore by another boater who saw them stranded.
Once the family made it back to shore, they were able to get in contact with the National Park Service who transported them to Antelope Point Marina, where they stayed the night before officials searched for the body the next morning.
When the officials traveled to the canyon on Sunday morning, they discovered that they were unable to get to it by kayaks like they normally would, so had to swim through debris to locate Rutledge's body.
Rescue crews then transported the body back to the marina and turned it over to the Coconino County medical examiner, while the sheriff's office took over the investigation into Rutledge's death.
Several flash flood warnings were issued for multiple areas of Arizona over the weekend and into Monday by the National Weather Service (NWS), as the state saw heavy rainfall amid a summer heatwave that has caused droughts and wildfires across the U.S.
In July, footage was posted on social media showing cars being washed away during flash flooding in Arizona, as areas of the state were hit with heavy rain for two days in a row.
One video, shared on Twitter by local meteorologist Ian Schwartz, showed a silver Toyota Prius getting carried down a residential street in Flagstaff, Arizona, by intense floodwaters.
In nearby Utah, officials closed the Zion National Park after a flash flood sent water and mud crashing through two of its entrances.
Hildale Mayor Donia Jessop told Fox 13 that a lot of basements were flooded during the rain, as water fell from the mountains during the worst of the weather.
However, Jessop confirmed that there were no casualties from the extreme weather, as KUTV reporter Heidi Hatch said that no hikers were reported missing.
Newsweek has contacted the Coconino County Sheriff's Office and the National Park Service for comment.
