Search for Missing Hikers Scaled Back, Families Offer Thanks, Hold Out Hope
WORDS OF THANKS: Despite the Grand Canyon National Park’s decision to scale back the search for two hikers who went missing in the vast park Saturday evening, the families of Lou Ann Merrell and Jackson Standefer continue to hold out hope.
Merrell, a 62-year-old proven outdoorswoman, is married to Randy Merrell, who cofounded the Merrell Footwear Co. in 1981. Now owned by Wolverine Worldwide, Merrell specializes in hiking boots, trail running shoes and performance-oriented apparel for the outdoors. The woman and her 14-year-old step grandson were separated from a larger group that included a few family members, while hiking in a remote back country area of the park near the North Rim that is popular with backpackers at this time of year, a GCNP spokeswoman said Tuesday.
The National Parks Service received an emergency alert from a personal locator GPS beacon Saturday evening. Earlier in the week, a 20-person search party canvassed the area near Tapeats Trail with the aid of a NPS-operated helicopter, a Zodiac motorcraft and a NPS-operated drone.
The Merrell and Standefer families released the following statement Thursday morning: “This morning the Merrell and Standefer families are still praying for a miracle in Grand Canyon National Park. Today, April 20, the search for Lou Ann Merrell and Jackson Standefer will continue on a limited basis. After carefully considering all the information available to us, and based on our personal knowledge of the search area, we support Grand Canyon National Park’s (GCNP) decision to scale back the search.
“We thank the GCNP staff for their exemplary service. We know they have done everything possible since Saturday, April 15, to find Lou Ann and Jackson. We also know countless people were praying for a much different outcome than this one. We felt your prayers and were sustained by them in ways we cannot begin to describe. We are profoundly grateful for the support that continues to pour in from across the country,” the statement read.
While the families indicated additional information about the search would be released today, a GCNP spokeswoman did not respond immediately Thursday for a request for comment.
The families’ remarks continued: “We thank GCNP, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, Uintah County (Utah) search and rescue, Merrell Boot Co., Sky-Tec of Chattanooga, Tenn., Xanterra Hospitality, and all others who volunteered their time, talents and equipment in the effort to find them.”
The statement continued, “We ask that you please continue to pray for our families, as our loved ones are still missing, and please respect our privacy at this time.”
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