North Texas hikers rescued by helicopter after deadly flash flooding in Grand Canyon
FORT WORTH — A bucket list trip for two North Texas hikers turned into a nightmare when flash flooding left them stranded in the Grand Canyon.
Whitnye Raquel and Paige Renae were two of the more than 100 people rescued by helicopters over the weekend.
The friends are now back home in Fort Worth, processing their trip to Arizona.
"That's where we began our 12-mile descent into the Grand Canyon," said Raquel.
They had secured coveted permits to hike to Havasu Falls, which sits on the Havasupai Indian Reservation. The remote waterfalls and turquoise pools lived up to the hype.
"We felt like the world was at our fingertips," said Raquel. "We were at the most magnificent place in the United States that we could possibly find."
On their second day, they hiked to the bottom of Fifty Foot Falls.
"We kind of decided, vibes are off – I think we said that out loud – the vibes are off, let's get out of here," Raquel said.
"Yeah and it had started to rain, so we thought this isn't really a safe place to be if it starts to pick up," said Renae.
By the time they reached the village to find shelter, it was pouring.
"We are watching boulders the size of buildings tumble down the canyon wall," said Raquel. "New waterfalls pouring in that weren't there before."
Then other campers started running in.
"With more and more progressively horrific news – I lost my tent, I watched my daughter float away in her tent while it was zipped up, my son was clinging to trees," she said. "Just heartbreaking stories… We were really panicking about how many campers could have possibly been swept away."
The pair didn't feel safe at the village. It was on higher ground but still inside the canyon.
The flash flooding had destroyed most of the trails, so their only option out would be a helicopter. They paid the locals for a spot and got the last ride out on Friday night.
"I believe there were approximately 60 campers stranded another night before the National Guard showed up and got them the next day," Raquel said.
They were scared and relieved to be leaving the canyon behind.
"We landed and we hugged the strangers that we rode in on and said our goodbyes and were just so grateful for our lives," Raquel said.
The Havasupai Tribal Council has decided to close the area to tourists indefinitely because of all the damage. Raquel and Renae hope the reservation makes major changes before opening again.
"Sirens, an alarm, an evacuation map that comes with your permit," said Raquel. "There was no bull horn, no megaphone, no screaming. It was very lax, we felt."
They don't want to deter other people from going on adventures.
"And getting outside and doing these things because you can see some amazing things," Renae said.
However, they believe better precautions could help save lives in the future.
"We were the last two people to see Fifty Foot Falls the way that it was," said Renae. "So we were really, really fortunate that we made all the decisions we made that day. If we hadn't have packed our camp up, we wouldn't have had our things. If we hadn't left Fifty Foot when we did, we wouldn't have our lives."
Authorities discovered the body of an Arizona woman, who was hiking in the same area when the flash flooding occurred on Sunday.
The Arizona National Guard said it rescued all other stranded tourists and some residents.