Grand Canyon 24-hour emergency line
(928) 638-7805
The park’s 24-hour emergency number. Use it if 911 doesn’t connect, or to report an overdue hiker.
This project
Deaths at the Grand Canyon is a research register of reported fatalities inside Grand Canyon National Park, from 1919 to the present. It pulls together records that are otherwise scattered across a historical map compilation, the National Park Service's mortality data, park news releases, and press reports.
It is an incomplete register, not a verified census of every death, and not a confirmed count of unique people.
Grand Canyon emergency contacts
Need rescue now?
Search and rescue inside Grand Canyon National Park is run by National Park Service rangers. For any emergency, call 911 first and tell the dispatcher where you are (trail, landmark or river mile, and coordinates if you have them), what happened, and how many people are in your group. From a hotel room in the park, dial 9-911.
911
For an active emergency
Call 911. If you can't get through, the park's 24-hour emergency line is (928) 638-7805.
Below the rim, plan to rescue yourself. Cell service is limited or missing in most of the inner canyon, and the park warns that help may be delayed because rangers may already be on other calls. Carry enough water, food and first aid to wait, and a satellite messenger if you have one.
Park and local contacts
Grand Canyon Clinic
(928) 638-2551
Open daily 9 am to 6 pm from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and weekdays 8 am to 5 pm the rest of the year.
Backcountry Information Center
(928) 638-7875
Questions about hiking plans, water sources and permits, weekdays 1 to 5 pm (Arizona time).
Coconino County Sheriff’s Office
(928) 226-5089
The sheriff coordinates search and rescue on county land around the park, such as the Kaibab National Forest. In an emergency, call 911.
Backcountry & River Alerts
Text GCRIVERALERTS to (928) 707-7842 before your trip for flash flood, extreme weather and other hazard alerts. Wait for the confirmation text; without it, you are not subscribed.
How to read the log
- One row per person. Each row is a named person, or an unnamed victim a source counts but doesn't name. People who died in the same event share an incident, and the log groups them.
- Blank means unknown. A missing month, day, or age means the source didn't give it. Sex is recorded only when a source states it; names are never used to guess.
- Dates aren't always dates of death. Some sources give the day someone disappeared, was found, or was recovered. Each record notes which.
- Every row cites a source. Expand a row to see the summary and the links behind it.
Cause categories
- Aircraft / vehicle
- Plane, helicopter, and motor vehicle crashes, including the 1956 midair collision.
- Fall
- Accidental falls from the rim, trails, or cliffs.
- Intentional
- Suicide and homicide, as reported.
- Cardiac / heat
- Reported cardiac events, heat illness, dehydration, and exhaustion. This is a grouping, not a medical diagnosis.
- Drowning
- Includes presumed drownings where remains were never found. A body recovered from water doesn't by itself count as a drowning.
- Other medical
- Medical deaths where the source doesn't establish a cardiac cause.
- Flash flood
- Deaths in flash floods and debris flows.
- Exposure, Rockfall, Lightning
- Smaller categories, kept separate where the source is clear.
- Unknown
- The cause was never established.
Sources
- Historical
- Most pre-2007 records come from Kenneth Field's historical map of Grand Canyon deaths. Its newspaper and archive citations are treated as leads, not as documents reviewed here, and these entries still need independent verification. Map points are approximate, and some names in the map are misspelled.
- NPS record
- Rows from the National Park Service's released mortality workbook (2007 onward). These are anonymous and use age ranges. Where one looks like it matches a named record, the match is a candidate, not a confirmed identification.
- Park / news
- Park news releases and press reports, used for recent cases and to put names to anonymous records.
The names of all 128 victims of the 1956 midair collision come from the family memorial lists for United Flight 718 and TWA Flight 2. Those lists give names only, so ages and sex are left blank.
Known gaps
- 1919–2006. The historical map focuses on non-natural deaths. Natural and medical deaths, employee and resident deaths, and older archival cases are not comprehensively covered.
- 2007 onward. Before 2014 the NPS data concentrated on unintentional deaths. Data from 2020 on is provisional, and some source rows may duplicate one another.
- 2025. The park reports 11 fatalities for 2025. The itemized records here don't fully reconcile to that total yet, and missing deaths are never filled with invented people.
- Boundaries. Historical locations are checked against the park's current boundary. Where the boundary stood at the time of each death hasn't been verified.
- Absence isn't evidence. If a death isn't listed, that doesn't mean it didn't happen.
Cases just outside the park, cases with uncertain boundaries or years, and possible duplicates are held in a separate review list. They are left out of this log until they're resolved, not discarded.
Corrections
If you have a correction, a better source, or information about someone listed here, please get in touch. Identities and exact ages are added only when a source supports them.
Give back to the teams who answer the call
Support Grand Canyon Search & Rescue
Park rangers respond to about 310 search and rescue incidents a year, from heat illness on the corridor trails to swiftwater and high-angle rescues. Much of their training and equipment, and the volunteer Preventive Search and Rescue program, is paid for by donations through Grand Canyon Conservancy, the park's official nonprofit partner.
Search and Rescue (SAR)
Funds rescue boats and motors, training in high-angle, aviation and swiftwater rescue, and stress-relief support for rescuers and families. Gifts can also go to the Chenoa Nickerson Memorial Fund, named for a hiker who died in the August 2024 Havasu Creek flash flood.
Preventive Search and Rescue (PSAR)
PSAR volunteers stop hikers on the trail to check water, distance and readiness, and encourage people to turn around before they get into trouble. In 2025 they made 140,362 visitor contacts, 18,400 preventive actions and 444 hiker assists.
Outside the park
Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue
Volunteer search and rescue for Coconino County, which surrounds most of the park. Ask the Sheriff’s Office volunteer program about joining or supporting the team: (928) 226-5050.
Pet emergency resources near the canyon
Animal emergency hospitals
Pets are allowed on leash (6 feet or shorter) on the rim trails and in developed areas, but not on trails below the rim; only service animals may go there. Hot pavement, heat in parked cars, wildlife and rattlesnakes are the main dangers. There is no emergency vet in the park: the nearest is in Flagstaff, about 80 miles from the South Rim.
Rattlesnake bite: get a photo of the snake
Rattlesnakes, including the Grand Canyon rattlesnake, live along the rims and in the canyon. Their venoms differ, so identifying the snake matters for treatment.
- If it's safe, take a photo of the snake from a distance. Don't approach, catch or kill it.
- Call the nearest emergency vet as you leave, ask whether they have rattlesnake antivenom in stock, and send them the photo. If they don't have it, ask where to go.
- Keep your pet quiet and carry it if you safely can. Don't cut the bite, try to suck out venom, or use a tourniquet.
- Don't wait for a callback before driving.
Animal poison hotlines
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center
(888) 426-4435
For suspected poisoning or toxic exposure.
Pet Poison Helpline
(855) 764-7661
Help with poisonings from medications, plants, chemicals and other exposures.
In and around the park
Call before driving. Hours and staffing change, and listings can be out of date.
Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center of Northern Arizona
(928) 779-5522
1110 E Route 66, Flagstaff. Emergency care on weekday evenings and overnight, and around the clock at weekends; daytime hours vary.
Grand Canyon Kennel
(928) 638-0534
Day and overnight boarding for dogs and cats while you hike below the rim, daily 7:30 am to 5 pm. Reservations recommended; proof of vaccinations required.
Williams Veterinary Wellness
(928) 635-5392
122 S 3rd St, Williams. Weekdays 8 am to 5 pm.
Kanab Veterinary Hospital
(435) 644-2400
6676 E Highway 89, Kanab. Weekdays 8 am to 5 pm.
Clinic details are from the clinics' websites and veterinary directories as of October 2026. They are a starting point, not an endorsement. Confirm hours and services by phone.
Grand Canyon hiking resources
Plan well. Hike within your limits. Come home.
The Grand Canyon is an upside-down mountain: the easy part comes first, and the hard part, the climb out, comes when you are hot and tired. More than 300 people are rescued from the canyon every year. Since 2007, falls and cardiac or heat-related deaths make up nearly a third of the deaths recorded here.
Turning around is a good decision.
Before every hike: check the forecast and trail conditions, know where you can refill water, tell someone your route and when you'll be back, and carry enough to cope with an unexpected delay. In the park's words: if you have doubts about your ability to hike safely in the Grand Canyon, don't attempt it.
Best practices
Stay out of the midday heat
Inner-canyon temperatures can pass 110°F (43°C) in summer. The park says hiking between 10 am and 4 pm is the most common cause of heat-related illness. Start before dawn, rest in shade through the afternoon, and finish in the evening.
Don’t go rim to river and back in a day
The park advises against it, especially in summer. A round trip on the North Kaibab Trail is 28 miles with almost 6,000 feet of descent. If you want to reach the river, plan an overnight trip with a backcountry permit.
Budget twice as long for the climb out
Every step down means about twice the work coming back up; the hike out can take twice as long or longer. Turn around early, before you have used half your water, time or energy.
Eat and drink: salt as well as water
Eat about double your usual carbohydrates and salty foods. Don’t force fluids: drinking too much plain water can cause hyponatremia, a dangerous electrolyte imbalance. Warning signs include vomiting, headache, confusion and unsteady walking.
Know where the water is
Water on the Bright Angel Trail is seasonal and can be cut off by pipeline breaks, and the South Kaibab Trail has no water and little shade. Check current water availability at the Backcountry Information Center before you go.
Watch the sky
Summer storms bring lightning, rockfall and flash floods, which can reach you from storms you can’t see. Stay away from the rim edge and lone trees in a storm, keep out of narrow drainages when rain threatens, and sign up for Backcountry & River Alerts.
Leave a plan and carry a way to call
Give someone your route and return time, and tell them to call the park’s 24-hour line, (928) 638-7805, or 911 if you’re overdue. Below the rim, a satellite messenger or satellite-capable phone may be your only way to call for help.
Ice in winter
The upper sections of the Bright Angel and South Kaibab trails can be extremely icy in winter and early spring. Wear traction devices and check trail conditions before you start.