A flash flood tore through the bottom of the Grand Canyon on Saturday, August 29, 2026, at around 2:30 p.m. local time, killing two people. As officials worked through permit lists and hundreds of tips over the following days, the number of people unaccounted for fell from roughly 15 to one, as of Sept. 1, 2026. The flood struck Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area, a stretch of Grand Canyon National Park in Coconino County, Arizona, that sits on the canyon floor near the Colorado River and can only be reached on foot, by mule, or by river — not from the more heavily visited South Rim overlooks.
Search and recovery work was still active as of the most recent reporting, and a flood watch remained in effect for the area through at least Monday evening, with the National Weather Service warning that more thunderstorms could bring additional flash flooding, debris flow and rockfall to the same terrain.
Key facts
- Toll: Two confirmed dead; one person remains missing as of Sept. 1, 2026
- When and where: Bright Angel Canyon and Phantom Ranch, Saturday, August 29, around 2:30 p.m. local time
- Missing count: Revised down from more than 20 (Sunday morning) to about 15 (Sunday night into Monday) to one (Sept. 1), as officials cross-checked permit lists and tips
- Victims: John Giusti, 46, and Brent Rosenkranz, 42, both of Granbury, Texas — officially identified by the National Park Service on Sept. 1, 2026
- Evacuated: 82 people in total (45 by Saturday evening, 37 more on Sunday), many airlifted by helicopter, to Maswik Lodge Cafeteria on the South Rim
- Damage: Most Bright Angel Creek footbridges destroyed; about 40% of the Transcanyon Waterline damaged
- Restrictions: Stage 4 water restrictions on the South Rim starting noon, August 31
- Closures: Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground and the North Kaibab Trail closed until further notice
The missing count kept dropping as officials rechecked
The number of people the National Park Service described as missing or unaccounted for fell steadily over several days. On Sunday morning, NPS put the figure at more than 20 possibly missing. By Sunday night into Monday, that count had been revised down to approximately 15. Officials made hundreds of calls and checked license plates against permit records, narrowing the figure to 12 by Monday morning and then to just one person by Sept. 1, 2026. The park said the current missing-person count is based on permits issued by the park, while acknowledging that additional day hikers who did not have a permit could also be missing; officials said hundreds of tips have come in but so far gave no reason to believe anyone besides that one person is missing. Two deaths are confirmed.
Both victims now officially identified
The National Park Service has not released the identities of the two people confirmed dead. Family members have told several news outlets that one of the victims is Dr. John Giusti, 46, a chiropractor from Granbury, Texas, who had been camping at Bright Angel Campground since the Friday before the flood. That identification, initially from the family, was confirmed officially by the National Park Service on Sept. 1, 2026. The second person killed was Brent Rosenkranz, 42, also of Granbury, Texas, whose body was recovered near Crystal Rapids on the Colorado River. The Coconino County Medical Examiner’s office is investigating both deaths. The fate of those still missing is not yet known.
What the flood damaged
The flood destroyed nearly all of the footbridges spanning Bright Angel Creek, cutting off pedestrian crossings in the area, and also closed the Black and Silver bridges. It also damaged roughly 40% of the Transcanyon Waterline, the pipeline that supplies water to the park, according to a preliminary Park Service assessment. Because of that damage, Grand Canyon National Park put Stage 4 water restrictions in place on the South Rim starting at noon on August 31 to conserve its remaining water reserves — a step that affects visitors on the South Rim even though the flood itself struck the canyon floor.
Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground, the Phantom Ranch Canteen and cabins, and the entire North Kaibab Trail between its trailhead and Phantom Ranch are closed until further notice, with no reopening date announced. The stretch of the Colorado River near the flood site was also closed to river traffic after the water carried large boulders and metal debris into the channel.
Evacuations and the response
The National Park Service says roughly 62 people were evacuated from Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail, many of them airlifted out by helicopter. Evacuees were taken to the Maswik Lodge Cafeteria on the South Rim, where the American Red Cross coordinated assistance. The response has involved the National Park Service and the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which handled air evacuations. The Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs and Coconino County Emergency Management are also assisting, and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs’s office said the state is coordinating with those agencies on the search and recovery effort.
A single report described intense monsoon thunderstorms over the Bright Angel Creek drainage before the flood, but the specific meteorological cause remains under assessment. A National Weather Service preliminary assessment found that a wildfire burn scar above Bright Angel Creek may have contributed to the flood’s severity but was likely not a major driving factor. Forecasters warn that additional storms could bring more flash flooding, debris flow and rockfall to the area.
No reporting so far indicates that lodging or visitor access on the South Rim, away from the flood zone, has been affected beyond the new water restrictions.