Crews Searching for 3-Year-Old Girl After Floods Kill Her 7-Year-Old Sister
A 7-year-old girl has died and her 3-year-old sister is missing after flash flooding sent torrents of water into a narrow canyon in the Utah desert, authorities said Tuesday.
At least 21 others escaped the flooding Monday afternoon in Little Wildhorse Canyon, where the curving sandstone walls are so narrow at points that hikers must turn sideways to walk through.
Little Wild Horse Canyon, Monday afternoon. The search is back on for missing hikers, including a 3 year old girl. #utah #slotcanyon pic.twitter.com/wMayqaN1tG
— Heidi Hatch (@tvheidihatch) May 12, 2020
Search and rescue crews found a piece of clothing believed to belong to the missing 3-year-old in a wash miles away from the canyon, the Emery County Sheriff’s Office said.
Dozens of searchers were combing the area with the help of helicopters about 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City.
Their names were not immediately released.
Flooding hit after an isolated thunderstorm storm crossed nearby Goblin Valley State Park, known for its otherworldly natural formations.
Little Wild Horse Canyon is considered a popular, family-friendly trail that displays awe-inspiring colorful stone walls.
Flash flooding is a risk in its narrow formations known as slot canyons.
Deseret rains can be dangerous because the hard earth doesn’t soak up much water.
Instead, the rain collects quickly, often filling narrow slot canyons like a bathtub.
The tall, undulating walls have few exits for any hikers inside when the weather hits, quickly turning a casual hike into a dangerous situation.
Little Wild horse Canyon flash flood on Monday afternoon. An atmospheric science PHD student from the U was caught in the freak storm with his wife and friends. They got to higher ground. Others could not. #utah pic.twitter.com/0PAD2g4xjK
— Heidi Hatch (@tvheidihatch) May 12, 2020
In 2015, seven hikers died when a storm sent water rushing into a slot canyon in southern Utah’s Zion National Park.
Floodwaters also killed a dozen people in a polygamous town on the Utah-Arizona border that year.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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