Search Continues for Missing Backpacker in Grand Canyon National Park

Rangers on the ground and in helicopters continued to search Friday for a 20-year-old backpacker missing in a particularly rugged area of Grand Canyon National Park. Photo by Conor Watkins And J. David Rogers, Missouri University of Science and Technology,

Search-and-rescue teams continued Friday to comb the rugged backcountry of Grand Canyon National Park for a missing backpacker who ventured down into the canyon to find an unusually rich waterpocket.

Twenty-year-old Bryce Gillies headed out last Saturday on a trip to the Deer Creek/Thunder River area of the canyon after reading about the area in a magazine. According to park hiking information, the appeal of this area are 'booming streams of crystalline water (that) emerge from mysterious caves to transform the harsh desert of the inner canyon into absurdly beautiful green oasis replete with the music of falling water and cool pools."

However, the park also notes that "trailhead access can be difficult, sometimes impossible, and the approach march is long, hot and dry...but for those making the journey these destinations represent something close to canyon perfection."

On Friday crews were searching areas in Surprise Valley, Thunder River Overlook and Tapeats Terrace both by ground and by helicopter.

The National Weather Service forecast called for a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms Friday afternoon, and temperatures in the search area weree expected to be in the high 90s.

Bryce Gillies is described as 5 feet 3 inches tall and 130 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.