The seventh flooding victim was Don Teichner, 55, of Mesquite, Nevada.
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Victims: Linda and Steve Arthur are pictured during a hike.
Searchers found the first body near the mouth of the canyon Tuesday afternoon and soon after, another body.
Searches are expected to resume Wednesday in both Hildale, for the final unaccounted for person, and in Zion for the missing three hikers.
Hours after they entered Keyhole Canyon, dark skies unleashed fierce rains that sent water surging through the chasm, sweeping the seven people to their deaths Monday.
Linda Arthur is pictured here hiking in the snow.
Though some of them were new to canyoneering, park policy prevents rangers from assessing their skill level or stopping them from entering canyons.
When they picked up their permit that morning, they were warned that flash flooding was “probable”, park officials said.
She said rangers would only decline to issue a permit if an official flash flood warning was posted.
Monday’s weather event was like a bucket of water being poured onto a rock – it slid right off and began running downstream, picking up sediment to create the forceful, muddy mess that rushed through the city, McInerney said. Hiking was her passion.
“It would be just like a drain, it just funnels down in there very quickly, very fast”, he said.
Linda Arthur is pictured in a Facebook photo. It’s considered an entry-level canyon for people who have some experience but are still new to the sport.
Arthur was so excited about the trip that he boasted about getting the permits for Keyhole Canyon, which only 80 people a day are allowed to visit.
That’s exactly what happened Monday evening when the group became trapped by floodwaters in Zion’s popular Keyhole Canyon. Luckily our group let them pass and all three of them survived.
A park document released Thursday afternoon stated Zion officials recorded two-third inches of rain and the North Fork of the Virgin River rose from 55-cubic-feet per second to 2,63-cubic-feet per second in 15 minutes.
Virginia Black watched in horror from her house as she made a video of the once-in-a-century flash flood.
“Our heartfelt sympathies go out to those affected by the flash flooding in Keyhole Canyon”, Superintendent Bradybaugh said in a statement. As those families mourn the loss of their loved ones, another hiker who was able to make it out filmed his escape. The flood water swept away multiple vehicles in the Utah-Arizona border town, killing sever…
But in an instant, flood waters engulfed them and the two vehicles were sucked downstream, bobbing in the turbulent water before they tumbled over an embankment.
A cadaver dog swims through mud and debris during a search for the remaining victim of a flash flood Thursday, September 17, 2015, in Hildale, Utah. His body was recovered about 7 miles south of the Utah line and 6 miles from where his heavily damaged vehicle was discovered in a flood plain.
Mertlich’s family reported him missing Tuesday, saying he typically drives the back roads in the area, the Mohave County sheriff’s office said. Gary Favela, 51, of Rancho Cucamonga, and Muku Reynolds, 59, of Chino, were also in the group.
Canyons were closed to canyoneering.
Aside from one spot near the canyon’s entrance, “there really is no high ground”.
“It’s unfortunate to go up there and learn the typography myself and see what a slot canyon does to entrap you”.
Exploring slot canyons found in the desert Southwest can require a combination of hiking, climbing, swimming and caving.
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But the thrills and the beauty of the canyons proved to be too much of a lure.
