Comment A 29-year-old hiker has died after being reported missing Friday night in Utah’s Zion National Park, the park announced Tuesday. Jetal Agnihotri, a graduate student at the University of Arizona, was discovered Monday in the Virgin River near a group of sandstone rocks known as the Court of the Patriarchs, park officials said, ending a days-long search involving 170 people. “Our deepest condolences go out to Jetal Agnihotri’s friends and family,” Jeff Bradybaugh, Zion National Park superintendent, said in a news release. The park could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday night. According to the press release, a medical examiner confirmed Agnihotri’s death. On Friday evening, park officials received a report that Agnihotri had delayed traveling to the Narrows, an area about six miles north of where she was later found. The Narrows is the narrowest section of Zion Canyon, with walls about 1,000 feet high, and is one of the most popular areas of the park. Earlier in the day, officials received a separate report of hikers who were “swept off their feet by a flash flood in the Narrows,” the park said. Park officials rescued an injured hiker swept downstream by the rising water and others stranded by flash floods. The Rangers also interviewed visitors coming out of the Straits and at the time, no one reported the disappearance. Agnihotri was hiking with school friends before she disappeared, her university newspaper reported. After receiving the report about Agnihotri, park officials and state and local emergency officials continued to monitor the Virgin River. The park had closed some trails due to a storm the day before. Deadly flash floods can occur with little warning in Zion National Park, which attracts millions of visitors each year. During the survey work, seasonal monsoon rains increased the flow of the Virgin River to a peak of 1,100 cubic feet per second, the park said. A cubic foot of water contains about 7.5 gallons and weighs about 60 pounds. The Virgin River flows an average of about 100 cubic feet per second. When Agnihotri was found this week, the river had slowed to about 50 cubic feet per second. They hiked in the desert without cell service. Then they fell into quicksand. Zion National Park is known to have heavier summer rainfall due to the annual monsoon season between July and September. The park describes flash floods as unpredictable, deadly and impossible to overcome. They may appear with sunny skies overhead, the park says on its website. Zion officials advise visitors to plan for emergency flooding, avoid areas likely to flood and leave an itinerary with someone before heading out. Signs of an impending flood include a change in water color and increased debris in the water, the park says on its website. As little as 6 inches of water can knock people over, he adds.
