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Flash Flood Might Have Played Role In Death Of Bryce Canyon National Park Visitor

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Published Date

August 27, 2023

The Fairyland Loop Trail/NPS file

Flash flooding might have played a role in the death of an Arizona woman at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.

Jeanne Roblez Howell, 64, of Sedona, was reported overdue Friday from a hike on the Fairyland Loop Trail, an eight-mile trek that descends from the rim of the park down into its eroded canyonlands. Several creeks cross the trail. 

After Howell was reported missing, a search of the area was conducted with help from the Garfield County Sheriff’s office and the Utah Department of Public Safety. Mrs. Howell's body was found at 1:30 a.m. Saturday within Campbell Canyon, approximately a mile east of the Fairyland Loop. 

Although park officials did not say what might have caused the woman's death, they did note that "a thunderstorm delivered heavy rain to the northern end of Bryce Canyon National Park on the afternoon of August 25. Flash flooding was observed in dry washes along the 8-mile Fairyland Loop trail."

"The circumstances of this incident are similar to other fatalities involving flash floods, but we will need the medical examiner's report to establish an official cause of death," said park spokesperson Peter Densmore.

The woman's body was found in Campbell Canyon about a mile east of the Fairyland Loop Trail/NPS map

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