Boater found dead in Grand Canyon – the 16th person to die there this year

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. — The body of a missing boater was recovered Tuesday in Grand Canyon National Park, the 16th death at the popular tourist destination this year.

The latest death, according to the park, appears to be that of a missing 71-year-old man who was on a private boat tour when others noticed him missing without a hat and water bottle, park spokeswoman Joelle Baird said. The group reached the park's communications center late Monday and reported his disappearance from near Lower Nankoweap Camp, about 53 miles from the tour's starting point.

Park rangers used a helicopter on Tuesday and found the body about 10 miles downstream. The person's name and hometown were not immediately released.

The National Park Service and the Coconino County Coroner's Office are investigating the death. They are also investigating the death of a 59-year-old Colorado man who was found dead while rafting on the Colorado River over the weekend.

On average, 10 to 15 deaths are reported at the park each year, Baird said. Causes of death this year include drowning, falls, natural causes and heart attacks. Some causes have not yet been determined, she said.

Last month, a 20-year-old man from North Carolina fell from the edge of the South Rim in the park. The following day, a 43-year-old man from Missouri died while attempting a base jump from Yavapai Point.

That same month, the body of a 20-year-old woman from New Mexico was found below Twin Overlooks, and a 33-year-old woman from Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, died after being swept away by the Colorado River while hiking in an adjacent canyon.

An 80-year-old man on a commercial river tour died after falling from a boat near Fossil Rapid, and a 60-year-old North Carolina man who was backpacking alone was found dead near a remote hiking trail on the Colorado River.