Rescue Efforts Resume to Locate Utah Flood Victims

Rescuers say that the common goal of searching for victims helped to ease the normal tension between the group and the other area residents.

The statement says Arthur was known for his efforts working with local youth both while on and off duty and had a “huge compassion for humanity”.

It happened in the tiny town of Hildale, Utah, which is, interestingly, the home of a polygamous religious sect.

Dramatic home video shows their vehicles floating downstream.

The three women are sisters.

Johnson identified his sisters as Josephine Annie Johnson, Della May Johnson, and Naomi Johnson. It’s not uncommon in the polygamous sect for relatives to marry the same man.

Two flash floods that struck southern Utah Tuesday brought a greater loss of life than any weather event in the state’s history.

“It looks like a tsunami went through”, said Ross Chatwin, who lives in Colorado City.

This report contains material from Reuters and the Associated Press.

Witnesses say that there was no way to save the victims as they watched them get swept away in the current during the flooding. One remained missing.

“That little bit of rain can turn what was a very comfortable daylong excursion into a horror story, literally in a split-second”, Allen said. Canyoneering has grown in popularity in recent years, attracting people who enjoy the challenge and the beauty of the canyons. The children in the vehicles ranged from 4 years old to teenagers.

The federal team has previously combed through the rubble of the World Trade Center after the September 11 terrorist attacks and the devastation that followed Hurricane Katrina.

Park authorities said about 60 search and rescue personnel were on scene.

Baker did not know if the bodies found were male or female. Three children survived the flooding.

Then around 5 p.m., a second “wall of water” swept down the creek. The last of the hikers’ bodies was recovered by park officials late Thursday morning.

Walker said he would not want to see Zion change its permitting system, saying it “is already pretty restrictive”.

“We’re greatly humbled by this, but we realize that this is an act of God, and this is something we can’t control”, said Barlow, a Jeffs follower.

Officials said three boys were able to escape.

“A flash flood came down, and from eyewitnesses that I’ve talked to, (they) said the water actually came around behind their vehicles and came down the street”.

The search for the missing hikers had been suspended because of flooding concerns, but searches are expected to resume Wednesday. “You’re in a slot pretty much the whole way”, Eaker said.

Park officials said the group was seen entering the narrow Keyhole Canyon, a challenging route on the east side of the park which requires visitors to swim through several pools of water and rappel down steep slopes.

Residents called it the worst flood in memory for the community.

At least nine victims were killed and four others missing, after a flash flood hit near the Utah-Arizona state line, authorities said Tuesday.

The twisted wreckage of two vans that were washed away in a flash flood with 16 women and children inside.

Three people survived, 12 were confirmed dead and crews are searching for the 16th person.

Six hikers who got trapped by floodwaters in Zion National Park have been found dead and another is still missing in Utah.