FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (NEXSTAR) — Crews searching for a missing man at Grand Canyon National Park made an unexpected discovery this summer.
They found the remains of another person who authorities believe was last seen at the park in 2015.
The medical examiner’s office is working to confirm the identity. Park officials tentatively have identified the person as 56-year-old Scott Walsh.
Park spokeswoman Joelle Baird says Walsh had been living in Ecuador but had a driver’s license out of Brooklyn, New York. Park rangers recently linked prescriptions found in a day pack belonging to Walsh with identification in a jacket found with his remains.
“It happens every once in a while here during searches that we end up finding people we weren’t expecting,” park spokeswoman Joelle Baird said Wednesday.
The discovery happened as rescue crews searched for another man, 45-year-old Gabor Berczi-Tomscanyi. He entered the park on or around July 19, 2021, park officials said, and his car was found abandoned at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center.
His body was found in late August roughly 430 feet below the rim of the canyon.
On Thursday, park officials announced that they are now looking for a 66-year-old backpacker named Clifton “Cliff” Beck of Mount Airy, Maryland.
Beck, who was hiking alone, was due to finish his backcountry stay on the Walhalla Plateau, located on the park’s North Rim, on Sept. 12 but hasn’t been seen since.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
