Three friends went on a Grand Canyon trip, two are dead and one is still missing

Three longtime friends set out into the Grand Canyon on Friday for a trip their families say they had been planning for months, hiking down to Bright Angel Campground for several days of fishing and exploring. Two of them never made it out. Dr. John Giusti, 46, and Brent Rosenkranz, 42, both of Granbury, Texas, were confirmed dead by the National Park Service on Tuesday, and the search continues for their friend Timothy Allen Smith.

The men had spoken to their families on Thursday and reached their campsite Friday, according to CBS. Smith, 53, is a NetJets pilot and married father of three who lives in Star Valley Ranch, Wyoming.

The trip turned Saturday afternoon, when intense monsoon rainfall triggered severe flooding through the Phantom Ranch area and Bright Angel Canyon. Officials said Bright Angel Creek, usually manageable for experienced hikers, rose more than five feet in roughly ten minutes in some areas and turned into a torrent of mud, rocks, trees and debris. Early estimates after the flood first struck put the number of missing hikers near two dozen. Nearly every footbridge spanning the creek was destroyed, cutting hikers off on opposite sides of the water.

It took night-vision helicopters and three agencies to get people out of Grand Canyon

The flood forced a rescue operation that pulled 82 people from deep inside the canyon. Survivors described hearing rockslides and watching massive logs and debris move downstream, and some said rangers had initially called conditions safe before urgently moving people as the storm intensified. The National Park Service, Coconino County Search and Rescue, and a U.S. Border Patrol search-and-rescue unit ran the operation, using helicopters equipped with night-vision technology to reach hikers trapped in the terrain.

Giusti was a chiropractor and a married father of three daughters, for whom the trip was a long-held dream. Rosenkranz taught martial arts and mentored local youth. Smith was last known to have reached the group’s campsite Friday, and search crews are now using cadaver dogs, Bluetooth technology and a drone to continue looking for him.

At one point the National Park Service was trying to track down roughly 15 people, with early reports suggesting more than 20 could be missing. Rangers compared vehicle license plates, camping permits and information from families to verify who was in the flood zone. Most have since been accounted for, though the park doesn’t require day hikers to register, leaving a window of uncertainty around anyone else who might have been in the area.

Officials installed gauges along Bright Angel Creek after the 2025 Dragon Bravo Fire burned parts of the North Rim, since burned terrain lacks the vegetation to absorb rainfall and sends water downhill faster through the canyon’s steep, narrow channels. Acting park superintendent Brian Drapeaux said the gauges detected rising water Saturday but went offline as the flood moved downstream, and it’s not yet clear whether the equipment failed or was destroyed by debris.

The physical damage to the park has been extensive. Roughly 40% of the 12.5-mile Transcanyon Waterline was affected, a serious blow since it supplies water to the South Rim and the park was already mid-way through a $208 million project to replace the aging system. The park implemented stage four water restrictions and suspended overnight lodging because of the damage, and major trails and bridges remain closed with no reopening date set.

Search crews plan to keep working through the week as they continue looking for Smith.