Human remains found in Grand Canyon identified as missing hiker, wife says
Courtesy: Grand Canyon National Park
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. - Human remains found earlier this week in the Grand Canyon have been identified as a man who went missing late last month when flash floods swept through the Bright Angel Creek corridor.
What they're saying:
Timothy Smith's wife confirmed in a Thursday Facebook post that remains found on Sept. 14 have been identified as her husband, 53-year-old Timothy Smith.
"My family has done a lot of waiting over the last three weeks...waiting and hoping Tim (Daddy) would come home, waiting and wondering if the remains found were Tim (Daddy). We no longer have to wait, Tim was found two days ago by the Rangers at Grand Canyon National Park. Not in the way we had hoped, but we know that he was doing something he loved with John and Brent," Carrie Smith wrote on Facebook. "We know that these three men loved the Lord and were a shining light for Him. The impact their lives had on others is still being shown to our families daily. Thank you for all the prayers over the last couple of weeks. Please do not stop praying for my family, we have lived through an enormous tragedy and will need your prayers for months/years to come. We know God is an AWESOME GOD and He will walk us through this season of life. Psalm 73:26 "My flesh and my heart faileth; but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."
The backstory:
On Aug. 29, emergency crews rescued about 80 people from the canyon during the flooding. Two people were confirmed dead, and they were later identified as Texas residents John Giusti, 46, and Brent Rosenkranz, 42, were found dead.
Grand Canyon human remains found near Crystal Rapid weeks after deadly flash floods
National Park Service rangers recovered human remains near Crystal Rapid on the Colorado River weeks after deadly flash flooding in the Grand Canyon on Aug. 29.
Smith remained missing until weeks later when human remains were found near Crystal Rapid on the Colorado River.
The Source: Information for this story was gathered from a Sept. 17, 2026, Facebook post by Carrie Smith, and FOX 10 reports on Sept. 17 and Sept. 1.