The bottom of the Grand Canyon can be an insufferably hot place in the middle of summer. This time of year, it can be just plain hot.
    As rangers worked this afternoon to recover the body of a woman in her mid-50s, the thought was that her death might have been heat-related and that she might have died two days ago.
    Word of the fatality was relayed to rangers via a commercial river trip, which managed to make a call out around noon today via satellite phone.
    The woman's body was in a remote section of the inner canyon near the junction of the Tonto Trail and Ruby Canyon. Rangers reached the scene via helicopter. According to initial reports, there were six people in the group of hikers, and one began having difficulties earlier this week.
    After the woman died, three hikers stayed with the body, while the other two went in search of help. They found another group of hikers, who headed down to the river and managed to flag down a passing group of rafters today.
    The body of the woman, whose identity has not yet been released, will be turned over to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office in Flagstaff, Arizona, once it has been recovered from the inner canyon.