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A Texas chiropractor and the hiking group he was with are among those reported missing or unaccounted for after a flash flood tore through a remote stretch of the Grand Canyon, according to a public plea from his wife.
Dr. John Giusti, a chiropractor and father of three from Granbury, Texas, was hiking and camping in the canyon when floodwaters swept through Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area on Aug. 29, his wife said in an update shared by Whipple City Family Chiropractic.
“Please pray for Dr. John’s safety,” she wrote.
The family’s update said Giusti’s hiking group is “among those currently reported missing and unaccounted for.” It said National Park Service search-and-rescue teams were conducting ground sweeps and helicopter operations across the canyon floor.
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His wife asked ChiroHabit’s community to keep “my husband, his hiking group, and our families” in their thoughts and prayers, adding that the family would share official updates as they are confirmed by park authorities.
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“Dr. John is the heart of ChiroHabit, but above all, he is a deeply loved husband, father and pillar of our family,” she wrote.
Photos posted to Giusti’s ChiroHabit business page also show him in the Grand Canyon before the flooding began.
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The National Park Service has not publicly identified the approximately 15 people it is working to locate or account for, and officials have not confirmed Giusti’s name.
The agency is asking anyone who knows of hikers or backpackers who were in the Bright Angel Creek corridor on Aug. 29 or who had a campground reservation there to contact investigators.
Giusti practiced chiropractic care for 19 years and was a partner at Whipple City Family Chiropractic in New York for eight years before moving to Granbury in 2020, according to his business biography.
He and his wife, Janet, are raising three daughters in Texas. Outside of work, Giusti enjoys hiking, hunting, fishing, running and martial arts, his practice said.
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Separately, the National Park Service said Sunday evening that recovery operations had been completed for a 46-year-old man near Crystal Rapids along the Colorado River. The Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office was on scene.
NPS did not identify the man, disclose a cause of death or say whether his recovery was connected to the search for people who remain unaccounted for after the flooding.
The flash flood began at about 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 29, according to the National Park Service. As of Sunday morning, 62 people had been evacuated from Phantom Ranch and the lower North Kaibab Trail, and no injuries had been reported.
Nearly all footbridges across Bright Angel Creek were destroyed, cutting off hiker access across the waterway. The flooding also forced the closure of Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel Campground, the North Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch, Black Bridge, Silver Bridge and the Colorado River to river traffic.
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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said her “heart is with the families and loved ones of every person unaccounted for after the flash flooding at the Grand Canyon.”
Hobbs said the Arizona Division of Emergency Management is coordinating with the National Park Service and Coconino County Emergency Management to support search and recovery efforts.
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Anyone with information about people who may have been in the affected corridor is asked to contact the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch Tip Line at 888-653-0009 or [email protected].