Family of Grand Canyon flash flood victim raises funds for search team: 'Profoundly grateful'
The family of Chenoa Nickerson, a hiker who died after going missing during flash flooding at Grand Canyon National Park, is raising money for the rescue team who searched for her.
Nickerson's body was found on Sunday morning, three days after she vanished before a flash flooding event at Havasu Canyon. The National Park Service launched search efforts to locate her.
Travelers on a commercial river trip spotted the 33-year-old's body in the Colorado River, officials said. Park rangers recovered the body via helicopter and transported it to the Coconino County Medical Examiner.
Now, her family has created a GoFundMe to raise money for the National Park Service Search and Rescue.
"These brave men and women utilized every resource to find our sister by navigating dangerous terrain with extremely limited methods of communication while leaving no stone unturned," the fundraiser's caption said. "We are profoundly grateful for them and fully acknowledge that they defied the impossible to bring our family the gift of closure."
Grand Canyon National Park search:Search underway for Arizona woman swept away in Grand Canyon flash flood
Family sets $500,000 goal for GoFundMe, says it's what Chenoa 'would want'
As of Wednesday morning, the GoFundMe had raised nearly $14,500 of its $500,000 goal. The family also encourages donors to write to the NPS to thank them for their service.
"The only thing that we want is Chenoa's memory to live on forever, and knowing her heart and what she would want, I think it's a perfect way to pay it forward to the men and women of the search and rescue and other first responders that helped locate her body," her brother, Janosh Wolters, told 12 News.
In the GoFundMe, Nickerson's family described her as a joyful person with an "infectious smile" who enjoyed traveling the world.
"As a family, we need and desire for nothing except for Chenoa to be honored and remembered the way she carried herself in life and in the way we now carry her in our hearts," the family continued.
Nickerson was hiking with her husband when they were swept away by the flash floods. Local rafters saved him. As USA TODAY previously reported, the couple was visiting from Gilbert, Arizona, and exploring the Supai Village area within Havasu Canyon on the Havasupai Indian Reservation.
Officials say the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner are investigating the incident.
Taylor Ardrey is a news reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected].