UPDATE: Crews Continue to Search for Missing River Guide

Grand Canyon, Ariz. –On Monday, September 12 the National Park Service received a satellite phone call from a commercial river trip reporting a missing guide near River Mile 137 also known as Pancho's Kitchen.

Joshua Tourjee of Flagstaff, AZ was reported missing by a member of the river trip after failing to return to camp the previous evening. Tourjee is described as a 34 year old male, 5'11", 170 lbs, brown hair and hazel eyes. Tourjee was last seen wearing lime colored short sleeve shirt and dark colored shorts with an inflatable pool raft, possibly in the shape of a black swan. Tourjee is working as a guide for OARS.

Due to high winds the National Park Service has been unable to transport searchers into the Canyon. Weather conditions dependent, search crews will be flown into the Canyon first thing Tuesday morning.

The National Park Service is currently conducting a Search and Rescue operation. A missing persons investigation is on-going. No further information is available at this time.Any individual with information on the location of Joshua Tourjee should contact National Park Service Dispatch at 928-638-7805.

Grand Canyon, Ariz. –A National Park Service Search and Rescue crew was flown into the Canyon early this morning to begin the search for missing river guide, Joshua Tourjee. Tourjee was reported missing on September 12 by his river trip after failing to return to camp the previous evening.

Today, using a Zodiac, crews searched on the water from the point last seen, River Mile 137 (Pancho's Kitchen) to River Mile 148 (Matkat). Tomorrow, two ground crews will search the areas from River Mile 139 (Fishtail) up to Pancho's Kitchen and from River Mile 143 (Kanab Creek) to Fishtail. An additional boat is launching from Lees Ferry to aid in the search efforts and the Zodiac will continue to search high probability areas.

Tourjee is described as a 34 year old male, 5'11", 170 lbs, brown hair and hazel eyes. Tourjee was last seen wearing a lime colored short sleeve shirt and dark colored shorts with an inflatable pool raft. Tourjee is working as a guide for OARS. This morning a commercial river trip reported finding an inflatable pool toy approximately 19 miles downstream from Tourjee's last known location.

The National Park Service is currently conducting a Search and Rescue operation. A missing persons investigation is on-going. No further information is available at this time.Any individual with information on the location of Joshua Tourjee should contact National Park Service Dispatch at 928-638-7805.

Grand Canyon, Ariz.– National Park Service crews searched by air, water, and foot yesterday and today for missing river guide Joshua Tourjee. Tourjee's river trip reported him missing on September 12 after he failed to return to camp. A team searched the water on a Zodiac and two ground teams searched both sides of the river. Tomorrow's and Saturday's operations include continued searching with the Zodiac team, aerial searching, and an additional boat that launched from Lees Ferry yesterday will also join the search.

Tourjee is described as a 34 year old male, 5'11", 170 lbs, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen near River Mile 137 wearing a headlamp, neck tie, black running shorts with pink triangles on the side, a lime green short-sleeve t-shirt, and black Chaco flip-flops. Tourjee is working as a guide for OARS.

The National Park Service is currently conducting a Search and Rescue operation and a missing persons investigation is on-going. Updated information about this incident will be limited unless something significant changes with the search. No further information is available at this time. Any individual with information on the location of Joshua Tourjee should contact NPS Dispatch at 928-638-7805.

Grand Canyon, Ariz. –On Tuesday, September 20th National Park Service personnel located a body on the Colorado River at River Mile 139. Today park rangers responded and recovered the body,which was transported to the rim by helicopter and transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner. Based on evidence found with the body, it is believed to be that of missing 34 year old river guide Joshua Tourjee.

Tourjee was reported missing by his river trip on September 12th when he failed to return to camp after visiting a neighboring river camp. The National Park Service conducted a multi-day Search and Rescue operation.

The Coconino County Medical Examiner will confirm positive identification. An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the National Park Service and the Coconino County Medical Examiner. No additional information is available at this time.