Human remains were found at the Grand Canyon on Monday, and National Park Service employees recovered them near Crystal Rapid on the Colorado River. The remains were then taken to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office for identification, but authorities have not yet said who they are.
The discovery has drawn attention because Crystal Rapid sits about 10 miles downstream from Phantom Ranch, where deadly flooding happened recently. Timothy Allen Smith, 52, is still reported missing because of that flooding, and the finding has left open the question of whether the remains are connected to him.
Smith grew up in Granbury, Texas, and now lives in Star Valley, Wyoming. That connection matters because he remains the only named person still listed as missing in the flooding, while the remains recovered at the canyon have not been identified. For now, the medical examiner will determine whether the discovery answers that missing-person case or turns out to be unrelated.
What is clear is that Monday’s find moved the case from a search into an identification process. Until the county medical examiner makes that call, the Grand Canyon discovery remains exactly that: a recovery without a name.
