ST. GEORGE — Missing hiker Jetal Agnihotri of Tucson, Ariz., was found Monday in the Virgin River near the Court of the Patriarchs in Zion National Park and later was pronounced deceased by a medical examiner.
The National Park Service has ended the search and rescue operation that began on Friday, Aug. 19, according to a news release from the National Park Service.
“Our deepest sympathy goes out to the friends and family of Jetal Agnihotri,” Jeff Bradybaugh, Zion National Park superintendent, said.
During the search, park rangers closely monitored the weather. Several seasonal-monsoon rains increased flow in the Virgin River to a peak of more than 1,100 cubic feet per second. The river was flowing at about 50 cubic feet per second when the Zion Search and Rescue Team ended their search.
Search and rescue timeline
According to the news release, Zion National Park received a report around 2:15 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19, of multiple hikers being swept off their feet by a flash flood in The Narrows near the Temple of Sinawava.
After receiving the initial report, the National Park Service immediately sent rangers to assess the situation and began mobilizing for a large-scale response. Near the Temple of Sinawava, park rangers found an injured hiker who had been swept downstream several hundred yards. An NPS ambulance transported the hiker to a hospital.
Other rangers hiked up Riverside Walk and found several hikers who were isolated by high water on high ground. Rangers directed them to remain in place until water receded and then assisted them to safety.
Zion National Park maintenance staff who had been doing other work on Zion Canyon Scenic Drive immediately moved to positions along the Virgin River to monitor conditions there. Park rangers and members of the Zion Search and Rescue Team deployed along the Virgin River with flotation devices and ropes prepared to reach visitors who might be in the water.
Throughout the afternoon and evening of Aug. 19, Zion National Park rangers interviewed groups of visitors exiting The Narrows and Riverside Walk to ensure they were not missing a member of their party. At that time, no hikers were reported missing, the news release said.
Later in the evening, the National Park Service received a report of a hiker, Jetal Agnihotri of Tucson, Ariz., who was overdue from a trip in the Narrows. In response, park rangers continued monitoring the river during the night and mobilized additional searchers early on Aug. 20. Zion Search and Rescue Team members as well as staff from many partner organizations worked in and near the Virgin River searching for Agnihotri.
The search ended on Monday when Zion Search and Rescue Team members found the missing person, Jetal Agnihotri, at about 3:15 p.m. in the Virgin River near the Court of the Patriarchs about six river miles south of The Narrows.
More than 170 responders contributed to operations over the course of the four-day search and rescue operation, including the following: Bureau of Land Management, Color Country Interagency Fire Center, Kane County Search and Rescue, Hurricane Valley Fire District, National Park Service staff from Grand Canyon National Park and Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Springdale Police Department, Utah Search Dogs, US Forest Service, Washington County Search and Rescue and Washington County Sheriff’s Office
These responders worked inside and outside the park, the news release said. The response involved work by swift water trained rescuers, search dogs and a total of more than 1,500 person-hours searching in and near the Virgin River.
Updated 8:15 p.m. Aug. 23: Adds section below from Washington County Search and Rescue.
Washington County services play key role
Washington County Search and Rescue said in its own news release that its services were requested Friday, Aug. 19, in response to a report of a purported drowning in Zion National Park. While en route, Sgt. Darrell Cashin was notified of a flash flood in the park at The Narrows and that park rangers were requesting assistance with a search for missing hikers.
At around 6 p.m., Cashin was advised by Zion rangers that all hikers who had been reported missing actually were accounted for and the Washington County SAR team was no longer needed.
But on Saturday, park rangers told Cashin that a hiker had not returned to her party the night before, the search and rescue news release said. Ranger again asked the Washington County SAR team to assist.
Cashin deployed the swift water recovery team to the area where they began to search the river south of the entrance to Zion National Park. A methodical search was completed along the edge of the river as well as high dense debris areas. These efforts continued throughout the day with no signs of the missing hiker in this particular area.
At 6:30 a.m. Sunday, the Washington County SAR team responded to the search area and a search plan was drawn up and executed by the SAR team. The Zion National Park SAR team continued its search inside the park while the Washington County SAR team continued to search the Virgin River, south of the park entrance. These searches were carried out through the remainder of the day, according to Washington County SAR.
Monday morning, Washington County SAR team picked up search efforts, which extended into Zion National Park as well as further south through Springdale, along the Virgin River. At around 1510 hrs, Cashin was advised that Zion SAR members possibly had located the missing hiker, deceased in the river within the park.
According to the SAR news release, under Utah law, the circumstances in this case would be considered an “Unattended Death” and requires that law enforcement be involved in the investigation.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office investigations unit was notified and the on-call detective responded to the scene. The victim was taken to the Utah Medical Examiner’s Office. Investigators are working with Zion park rangers and the medical examiner to determine the cause of death.