Park rangers went looking for the group and found no trace of them.
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Six of the hikers are confirmed dead. Search crews recovered four children alive, and one adult is still missing.
A flash flood warning was established and all the canyons were closed, but park rangers could not get word to people in the canyons, Park Ranger Therese Picard told CNN affiliate KSTU of Salt Lake City.
“I join with other Utahns in mourning the tragedy in Washington County and Zion National Park”, Gov. Herbert said. “It is not possible to contact everyone”. All were in their 40s and 50s.
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. With haziness falling and the gorge effectively loading with floodwaters, they chose it wasn’t protected to send in salvage teams.
The search resumed the next morning. The canyon was still inaccessible, but teams started following its course and calling down to the missing hikers with no answer.
Due to the technical nature of the canyon, search and rescue efforts were hampered Tuesday and Wednesday by the continuing rain and risky flooding conditions in the area, officials said.
Wednesday, officials in California identified one of those who was killed as Steve Arthur, a 21-year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
“He was known for his tireless efforts working with local youth both on and off duty and possessed a huge compassion for humanity”, Sheriff Geoff Dean said in a statement.
Zion National Park officers consistently caution climbers that glimmer flooding amid rainstorm season can transform southern Utah’s delightful gulches into lethal channels of quick moving water and flotsam and jetsam.
Like in Hildale, high water levels and continued storms threaten further flash flooding, which has hindered searchers’ access to portions of the Keyhole Canyon.
Crews including the Utah national guard, a federal task force and local officials are searching a seven-mile length of Short Creek to try and find a boy who turned 6 last month. Jessop’s wives Josephine Jessop and Naomi Jessop and five children also died in the flash flood that swept away two cars Monday.
The region was hit with severe flooding Monday, killing at least 12 people in polygamous towns on the Arizona-Utah border and seven others at Zion National Park. Steve Arthur, 58, was on the trip.
The names of the children, ranging from 4 to 11 years old, were not disclosed.
The “technical portions” of Keyhole Canyon are ones that require ropes and rappelling, he said.
Hikers use climbing equipment to lower themselves into the canyon.
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The group entered Keyhole Canyon Monday morning.
