Man Lost in Grand Canyon Found Alive After Enduring Freezing Weather for 11 Days
The Grand Canyon is a breathtaking natural wonder that attracts tourists during all times of the year. While the summer months can be brutal, the winter months also feature their fair share of treacheries.
No doubt you’ve seen the photos (or perhaps taken one yourself) where a person is standing on an outcropping, seemingly hanging in mid-air over the enormous canyon. There’s always the risk of accidentally falling off the edge, and adding snow to the mix just complicates matters.
The authors being interviewed for a 2012 Arizona Daily Sun article mentioned that the majority of adventurers who have met their demise at the canyon have been young males — though they also cautioned that other determining factors include “taking unknown shortcuts” and “going solo.”
Martin Edward O’Connor falls into the “male” and “going solo” categories, and until this week, he was last spotted on Dec. 22 at the Yavapai Lodge.
What happened between then and when he was found on the south rim of the canyon on New Hance Trail on Thursday remains to be seen.
When he went missing, the Grand Canyon NPS distributed a missing person notice.
“Martin Edward O’Connor, 58, of La Porte, Texas was last seen on Dec. 22, 2019, at Yavapai Lodge on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon,” the bulletin read. “O’Connor is believed to be traveling alone and stayed at Yavapai Lodge from Dec. 17-22.”
“O’Connor is described as a white male, 5’10” in height, 145 pounds, with blue eyes and is bald. He is thought to be wearing Carhartt-style work clothing and a blue plaid shirt.”
During the time that the hiker from Texas was out wandering in the wilderness, there were notices of icy conditions, and in some places, the temperature got down to -8 degrees, according to Time and Date.
Thankfully, the lone hiker was spotted on Wednesday, still along New Hance Trail, which the NPS describes as having “multiple scrambles and short down climbs” and “a stretch of trail which could be difficult to navigate at night and near impossible to navigate after significant snowfall.”
“Grand Canyon, AZ – National Park Service rangers located Martin Edward O’Connor and evacuated him from the inner canyon via helicopter at approximately 10 a.m. today in Grand Canyon National Park,” the NPS posted in an update on Thursday.
“Hikers reported seeing O’Connor along the New Hance Trail to park rangers yesterday afternoon, which is where the rangers located him this morning.”
“O’Connor is undergoing a medical evaluation, and no additional information is available at this time.”
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