Arizona hiker missing; swept away by Utah park floodwaters

The Associated Press

Authorities have been searching for days for an Arizona woman reported missing after being swept away by floodwaters in Utah’s Zion National Park.

National Park Service officials said rangers and members of the Zion Search and Rescue Team were in the Virgin River area Sunday searching for Jetal Agnihotri, 29, of Tucson.

They said Agnihotri was among several hikers who were swept off their feet Friday afternoon by rushing water in the Narrows near the Temple of Sinawava in Zion National Park, which is in southern Utah near the Arizona border.

All of the hikers except Agnihotri were found on high ground and were stranded until water levels receded.

Meanwhile, officials at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico said about 150 tourists were evacuated late Saturday night after being stranded by rising water.

Park officials told people at the visitor’s center to wait there for hours because of flash flooding.

Authorities said several rivers and streams in New Mexico have nearly reached historic flood levels not seen since the 1960s due to recent heavy rainfall.

In Arizona, emergency crews rescued four hikers stranded in Sabino Canyon east of Tucson on Friday and helped 41 students and staff from Marana off school buses that got stuck in high water when the storms began to move in.

More than 3 inches (7.62 centimeters) of rain fell Saturday in the mountains northeast of Tucson, according to the National Weather Service.