CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Officials said a woman who lived in Chattanooga died on Saturday after falling into the Colorado River at The Grand Canyon.
Officials with the national park sent a release out on social media Monday after the woman. In it, they said she was Sheetal Patel, 47, originally from Chicago and most recently from Chattanooga.
They said she was cooling off along Pipe Creek Beach when she was caught by the current in the Colorado River. They said she had hiked into the canyon to meet up for a trip starting at Phantom Ranch, starting a multi-day boating trip.
They said the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center got a call about a passenger on a commercial river trip who had fallen into the river at around 2 p.m. on Saturday. Guides were able to reach her by boat and pulled her out, performing CPR.
The National Park Service responded and helped them try to resuscitate her, officials said. However, they said their attempts were not successful. They said they are investigating the incident along with the Coconino County Medical Examiner.
