Missing person found dead at Grand Canyon, third fatality at national park in a week

Rangers at Grand Canyon found the body of a missing person earlier this week, marking the third death at the national park since July 31, officials said Thursday.

The body of Leticia Castillo, 20, of Albuquerque, was discovered Tuesday 150 feet below an overlook on the canyon’s South Rim, the National Park Service said in a news release.

Castillo was believed to have entered the park on Aug. 3, the agency said. The park service and local medical examiner’s office are investigating the death and additional details were not immediately available, according to the release.

On Aug. 2, the body of a BASE jumper — an extreme sport that involves leaping from fixed objects like bridges, cliffs and buildings with a parachute — was found 500 feet below Yavapai Point, also on the park’s south rim.

BASE jumping is banned in the Grand Canyon, the park service said. And it has generally been prohibited across the national park system, an official agency said in a memo earlier this year.

The memo came amid renewed interest in the sport, according to the official, who issued guidance saying BASE jumping may be allowed within the system by permit if determined to be an “appropriate activity.”

In an email Thursday, Grand Canyon spokesperson Joëlle Baird said last week’s fatal jump, which was reported on the morning of Aug. 1, occurred after the man’s parachute separated from him. It was found on a cliff face 200 feet above his body.

On July 31, Indiana college student Abel Mejia fell to his death near an overlook on the park’s South Entrance Road. His body was recovered the next day.

An investigation into Mejia’s death is ongoing and additional details were not available, Baird said Thursday.

Baird said summer months present challenging conditions at the park — including extreme heat and increased visitor activity — and have suggested an increase in the number of dangerous incidents and fatalities.

Between 2014 and 2023 there have been roughly 17 deaths per year at the park. Since January, there have been 11 deaths in the park, including the three since July 31, Baird said.

According to National Park Service data that reviewed deaths at the park between 2014 and 2019, hiking accounted for 18 fatalities and was ranked as the most dangerous recreational activity.

Since 2019, between 2 million and 5 million people have visited the Grand Canyon each year, park data shows.

An NBC News analysis last year found that a little visited national park popular with alpine climbers, Washington state’s North Cascades, had the highest fatality rate in the country.