Colorado man found dead in Grand Canyon, becoming latest hiker to die in nat'l park this summer

Sept. 9 (UPI) -- A Colorado man hiking the Grand Canyon was found dead over the weekend, officials said Monday, making him the latest person to die within the national park this summer.

Patrick Horton, 59, of Salida, Colo., was on his 10th day of a trip along the Colorado River when he was discovered dead by members of his party early Saturday, the National Park Service said in a statement .

The Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a call reporting Horton's death at about 5:30 a.m. local time that day, stating he was located at Poncho's Kitchen near river mile 137 of the Colorado River.

An investigation is underway, the park service said, adding it was in conjunction with the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office.

No cause of death was given.

Several others have perished within the Grand Canyon this summer, with Horton's death coming after Chenoa Nickerson died late August. She was swept away by flash flooding that required National Guard soldiers to recuse more than 100 people.

Officials discovered her body Aug. 25, the same day an 80-year-old man died after entering the Colorado River to aid his flipped boat.

A BASE jumper died Aug. 1 following a failed attempt to parachute from Yavapai Point on the South Rim.

And a college student also perished July 31 in a 400-foot fall from the edge of the Grand Canyon rim that officials said was accidental.

According to park statistics , there were 103 deaths in Grand Canyon National Park between 2014 and 2019. Fourteen of them were caused by falls.