Sabra Jones, a 44 years old from Gallup, New Mexico, died on the afternoon of August 12, 2002, of injuries sustained in a 25-foot fall along Havasu Creek, about three miles from its confluence with the Colorado River.
At 3:00pm on August 12, the National Park Service received a satellite telephone call reporting that someone had fallen in the Havasu Creek area. National Park Service rangers responded by helicopter to the site, a remote area in the inner portion of the Grand Canyon in a side canyon of the Colorado River. First bystanders and then responding rangers provided emergency medical assistance, however, Jones died at the scene.
Ms. Jones was a crew member on a commercial river trip conducted by Tour West, INC., one of sixteen outfitters that provide raft trips on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park. The Havasu Creek area is a popular attraction on the Colorado River trips, known for its blue-green water and options for hiking and exploring. The National Park Service and Coconino County Sheriff's Office are conducting an investigation. In the last 5 years, there have been seven river concessions related fatalities in Grand Canyon National Park.