Texas chiropractor among 15 unaccounted for after Grand Canyon flash flood

On Friday afternoon, August 29th, floodwaters tore through Bright Angel Canyon in the Grand Canyon with little warning. The surge came around 2:30 p.m., moving through the Phantom Ranch area and the lower reaches of the North Kaibab Trail—a remote section of the canyon where hikers and backpackers camp and traverse the creek crossings. Among those caught in the path were Dr. John Giusti, a chiropractor from Granbury, Texas, and the hiking group he was traveling with. By Sunday morning, they remained unaccounted for, part of a group of approximately 15 people whose whereabouts the National Park Service was still working to determine.

Giusti's wife made a public appeal for prayers and support, describing her husband as the heart of ChiroHabit, the wellness business he co-founded, but more importantly as a deeply loved husband, father of three daughters, and a pillar of their family. She asked the community to hold her husband, his hiking companions, and their families in their thoughts while search-and-rescue teams conducted ground sweeps and helicopter operations across the canyon floor. The National Park Service had not publicly confirmed Giusti's name or released the identities of the other missing individuals.

The flash flood's force was evident in the destruction it left behind. Nearly every footbridge spanning Bright Angel Creek was destroyed, severing the main routes hikers use to cross the waterway. The flooding forced the closure of Phantom Ranch, the Bright Angel Campground, the North Kaibab Trail leading to Phantom Ranch, Black Bridge, Silver Bridge, and the Colorado River to all river traffic. By Sunday morning, 62 people had been evacuated from the affected areas, and remarkably, no injuries had been reported among those who were successfully removed.

Giusti had spent 19 years practicing chiropractic medicine. He had worked as a partner at Whipple City Family Chiropractic in New York for eight years before relocating to Texas in 2020. Outside his professional life, he was an active outdoorsman—hiking, hunting, fishing, running, and practicing martial arts were central to how he spent his time. Photos posted to his business page showed him in the Grand Canyon before the flooding began, capturing what appeared to be a routine trip into one of the country's most visited natural areas.

Search efforts continued as authorities worked to account for everyone in the canyon at the time. The National Park Service asked anyone with information about hikers or backpackers who had been in the Bright Angel Creek corridor on August 29th, or who held campground reservations in the area, to contact investigators. A tip line was established at 888-653-0009, with an email option at nps_isb@nps.gov.

On Sunday evening, recovery operations located a 46-year-old man near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River. The Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office was called to the scene. The National Park Service did not identify the man, disclose how he died, or clarify whether his recovery was connected to the search for the missing hikers. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs issued a statement saying her heart was with the families of those unaccounted for, and confirmed that the Arizona Division of Emergency Management was coordinating with the National Park Service and Coconino County Emergency Management to support ongoing search and recovery operations.

As of Sunday, the canyon remained partially closed, and the search for the remaining unaccounted individuals continued. The scale of the disaster—15 people missing, one body recovered, critical infrastructure destroyed—underscored how quickly conditions in the canyon can shift from routine to catastrophic.