A man from Colorado was discovered deceased on Sunday during a group river trip in the Grand Canyon, marking the seventh death in the national park since the end of July. The incident was reported to the officials of the Grand Canyon National Park early Sunday morning, with the location of the fatality being Poncho’s Kitchen, a section of the Canyon near the 137th mile of the Colorado River.
The man was identified as Patrick Horton, a 59-year-old resident of Salida, Colorado. Horton was partaking in a non-commercial river trip in the Canyon when the incident occurred. His body was discovered by other members of his group on the tenth day of their journey.
The Grand Canyon has experienced a tumultuous summer, with six fatalities occurring in August alone. The causes of these deaths varied, with incidents ranging from a woman being carried away by a flash flood to a failed illegal BASE jump. Three of these fatalities occurred within the first week of August.
The park has seen a steady increase in fatalities over the past few years, with 11 deaths recorded in 2023, 12 in 2022, a shocking 23 in 2021, and 13 in 2020. The average number of deaths per year typically falls between 10 to 15, with 2021 being a notable exception. Horton’s death is the 15th recorded in 2024, nearing the higher end of the annual average.
Between 2014 and 2019, the Grand Canyon National Park recorded 103 deaths, according to the NPS mortality dashboard. Of these, 49 were due to medical emergencies or issues, including 37 deaths that did not involve any physical activity.
In comparison to other national parks in the US, the Grand Canyon National Park’s death rate is on the lower end of the spectrum, with an average of 358 deaths reported each year across all national parks during the same period.
The circumstances surrounding Horton’s death are still under investigation by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s office. The cause of death and the exact time of death remain unclear.