COLORADO – A hiker is missing after flash flooding inside Grand Canyon National Park on Thursday afternoon, according to the National Park Service. The park service said it was engaged in search and rescue operations, looking for the woman they say may have been swept away amid the flash flooding near the Colorado River confluence, according to a Friday news release.

The woman, identified as Chenoa Nickerson, 33, of Gilbert, Arizona, was not wearing a life jacket at the time she was swept into Havasu Creek, the release said. A 20-year-old college student from North Carolina died after falling from a Grand Canyon rim.

Several hikers had become stranded during the flash flood early Thursday afternoon, the park service said. A rescue flight was sent to recover the stranded hikers, both below and above Beaver Falls but Nickerson remained missing, according to the release.

The National Park Service described Nickerson as 5 feet 8 inches tall and 190 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information about her is being asked to contact the park service’s Investigative Services tip line. Her sister, Tamara Morales, said, “We remain hopeful that she will be found safely,” according to CNN affiliate KNXV. Nickerson’s husband was safely rescued, Morales told KNXV.

“We love her very much and are not giving up on her,” Morales said of her sister. “We want all efforts focused on the search and finding her safely.” Arizona Governeur Katie Hobbs activated the Arizona National Guard to assist with rescue efforts on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which is surrounded by Grand Canyon National Park, according to KNXV. Flooding caused by monsoon storms prompted several emergency evacuations. (Al Jazeera)…[+]