A Texas chiropractor and members of his hiking party are believed to be among those missing or still unaccounted for after sudden flash flooding surged through a remote area of the Grand Canyon, according to an appeal shared by his wife.
Dr. John Giusti, a Granbury, Texas, chiropractor and father of three, had been hiking and camping in the Grand Canyon when floodwaters swept through Bright Angel Canyon and the Phantom Ranch area on Aug. 29, his wife said in an update posted by Whipple City Family Chiropractic.
“Please pray for Dr. John’s safety,” she wrote.
According to the family’s message, Giusti’s hiking group is “among those currently reported missing and unaccounted for.” The update said National Park Service search-and-rescue crews were combing the canyon floor on foot while also using helicopters in the ongoing effort.
Dr. John Giusti, a Texas chiropractor and father of three, is seen at the Grand Canyon in an image shared by his practice. His wife said Giusti and his hiking group were reported unaccounted for after flash flooding in the area. (ChiroHabit Facebook)
Giusti’s wife urged the ChiroHabit community to keep “my husband, his hiking group, and our families” in their thoughts and prayers. She added that relatives would provide official updates once information is confirmed by park authorities.
Dr. John Giusti shared this Grand Canyon view during the hiking trip before he and his group were reported unaccounted for in the wake of flash flooding. (ChiroHabit Facebook)
“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.
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.
Floodwater and debris are seen in Bright Angel Canyon after a significant flash-flood event near Phantom Ranch on Aug. 29, 2026. (J. Thompson/NPS Photo)
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.
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.
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 nps_isb@nps.gov.
