On Friday, April 27, rangers retrieved the body of a female from below the Trail View overlook on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. The woman’s name is being withheld pending positive identification and notification of next of kin.
On Thursday, April 26, the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center received a report from the Phoenix Police Department of a possibly suicidal woman in the park. Rangers immediately began searching for the woman in primary visitor areas and simultaneously searching for clues to help them narrow down their search area. Shortly before 8:00 a.m. a bus driver reported that at approximately 6:50 a.m., a woman fitting the description of the search subject exited the Hermit Shuttle at the Trail View overlook located about 0.75 miles west of Grand Canyon Village. At approximately 9 a.m., rangers found the woman’s vehicle parked at the Bright Angel Lodge, confirming that she was likely at the west end of the Village and search efforts were further concentrated in that area.
At approximately 10:45 a.m., weather conditions temporarily cleared enough for the park’s helicopter to be launched and join the search. Fifteen minutes later, the helicopter reported spotting a body about 100 feet below the Trail View overlook. Rangers were dispatched to the scene to conduct initial investigation and prepare the body for transport; but retrieval of the body had to be delayed until Friday due to poor weather conditions.
Also on Thursday, at approximately 5 p.m. rangers received a report from the Peregrine Fund of a possible body spotted below the South Rim in the Mather Point area. Peregrine Fund staff spotted what appeared to be a body while observing condor activity in the park. Due to poor weather conditions and the late hour, rangers had to wait until Friday to confirm the report.
On Friday morning, rangers were able to visually confirm that a body had been found; and at approximately, 11 a.m., rangers rappelled about 500 feet below the rim west of Mather Point and traversed to the body to begin their investigations and prepare the body for transport. At approximately 4:30 p.m., the body was retrieved via helicopter and transported to the park’s Emergency Operations Center where it was transferred to the Coconino County Medical Examiner.
The body has been presumptively identified as that of 47-year old Shaw Joseph Ostermann of Tempe, Arizona whom rangers had been attempting to locate since April 16, 2012 when his car was identified as possibly abandoned in a parking lot near the Grand Canyon Visitor Center and Mather Point.
An investigation into the incident is being conducted by the National Park Service.