More Buckskin Gulch death

Ugh! Stop it already. Less than 70 days after the last one

https://www.ksl.com/article/5065075...5zH3H9FNF-tOdfU2yqD6V-wyRRbsUSU1noxkp56nEnG9I

Crews recover body of 2nd hiker killed in slot canyon flash flood
By Pat Reavy and Cassidy Wixom, KSL.com | Updated - May 23, 2023 at 9:36 a.m. | Posted - May 22, 2023 at 10:59 p.m.


KANAB — Search crews have recovered the body of a second hiker killed in a flash food in a southern Utah slot canyon over the weekend.

On Tuesday, the Kane County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Gary York, 65, of West Chester Township, Ohio, and John Walter, 72, of Kettering, Ohio, were killed while hiking in the Bucksin Gulch area.

"It is believed they were caught by surprise and swept away by the rushing wall of water," the sheriff's office said in a prepared statement Tuesday.

About 11:30 a.m. Sunday, a member of the sheriff's office search and rescue team, who is also a backcountry guide, notified his office that he had received a message from a group hiking in the Paria River area from the White House trailhead to Lee's Ferry that a body of a deceased man was found in the canyon. The body was found about a half-mile south of the Utah border in Arizona, south of the junction of the Paria River and Buckskin Gulch.


The body was recovered with assistance from the Coconino County (Arizona) Sheriff's Office and the Utah Department of Public Safety's helicopter.

About 9:30 a.m. Monday, the Kane County Sheriff's Office received a call from the West Chester (Ohio) Police Department to report two overdue hikers in Kane County. Their families told officers they last talked to the men Saturday about 3 p.m. At that time, the men said they were going to hike about five miles into Wire Pass and the Buckskin Gulch.

Based on pictures provided by the family, deputies identified the body found Sunday as York. Searchers then went back to the area to look downstream for the second man. Walter's body was found about 5 p.m. Monday.

"Mr. York was carried close to 10 miles down the canyon by the flood waters and Mr. Walters 7-8 miles. Again, we have witnessed the relentless power and danger of flash flooding in Kane County's slot canyons. Our condolences go out to the York and Walter families," the sheriff's office said.

This marks the second deadly incident this year in Buckskin Gulch. In March, two men from Florida were killed in a flash flood in the same area, while one man in their group was rescued.


Photos

Condolences to all involved.

Sounds like they were just out and back near the top and not watching the weather or something. Or the forecast was wrong. Or the weather moved quickly.

Very sad, brothers looking for adventure and healing.
Reminding us yet again that nature is untamed and to expect the unexpected.