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Busy weekend<br>for GC rangers

A 65-year-old day hiker collapsed and died on the Bright Angel Trail on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, the National Park Service reported.

John Fawcett, who was from England, was on a rim-to-river-to-rim day hike during a hot part of the day on May 23. He collapsed at about 12:30 p.m., just below Jacob’s Ladder about one-fourth of a mile from the Three-Mile Resthouse.

The cause of death is being ruled as cardiac arrest.

NPS rescuers responded via helicopter and on foot. A ranger from Indian Garden attempted resuscitation measures but was unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man’s body was flown out and then transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office in Flagstaff.

In all, acting chief ranger Ken Phillips said the park handled 30 emergency incidents over Memorial Day weekend. That included 19 search-and-rescue operations, a dozen helicopter evacuations, three arrests and two searches.

Besides the death on the trail, another noteworthy operation involved the short-haul rescue from Grandview Trail on May 24 of a hiker with a broken leg.

The hiker was short-hauled to Horseshoe Mesa. From there, a helicopter flew the hiker to the South Rim and then on to Flagstaff Medical Center.

Conditions were not ideal for hiking. Inner Canyon rangers estimated that at least 500 rim-to-rim hikers made the trek in temperatures exceeding 100 degrees.


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