Bryce Gillies - Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona - Locations Unknown

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Thousands of people have mysteriously vanished in America's wilderness. Join
us as we dive into the deep end of the
unexplainable and try.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
To piece together what happened.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
You are listening to Locations Unknown. What's up everybody, and

(00:55):
welcome back to another episode of Locations Unknown. I'm your
co host, joey Eroto and with me as always as
a guy who can make an onion cry Mike Vanderbogart.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
Thank you, Joe, and thank you once again to all
of our amazing listeners for tuning in.

Speaker 4 (01:10):
Just a couple of announcements before we go in.

Speaker 3 (01:12):
Except for that YouTube lady know this Spotify spot Oh
it was comment on Spotify.

Speaker 2 (01:18):
Oh, coming on Spotify?

Speaker 1 (01:19):
Okay, all right, yeah, except for her, Except for her,
you know, very mean.

Speaker 4 (01:23):
That was a little inside yeah, ribbing.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah, that's okay, it's fine.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
We have no Patreon shoutouts this week. That's a problem
all of you listening. If you like the show, you
can support us on Patreon, YouTube subscriptions, speaker subscriptions, apples, memberships,
what else. You can call the show to Wait three
nine six three, leave a voicemail. You've got a few

(01:47):
more weeks.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Until our live stream Spotify Lady should call the number. Yes,
I always say, yeah, you need to call and say
all those things because we know you're listening. Yes, yeah,
because you don't stop listening.

Speaker 4 (01:57):
Yeah, so call the show and tell us how terrible
we are.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yes we are. We have a huge special coming up.
We want to play all the voice.

Speaker 3 (02:04):
We're ready to put a voice to the hate. Yea,
so let us hear you what else? Like I said,
we've got our live stream coming up on the twenty third,
So if you want to call and leave a voicemail
and get featured on that live stream, you've got a
few more weeks. We've got some times set up now,
so it's gonna start on seven pm Central Time, and

(02:27):
we have confirmed Evan, our friend Evan Stone, will be
wrapping the show up with us at the end.

Speaker 4 (02:34):
We're hoping for his friend. Can we say the name?

Speaker 2 (02:37):
No?

Speaker 1 (02:37):
I would no, no one, just because if it doesn't
come through then and just look dumb.

Speaker 3 (02:40):
Yeah, we're hoping for a good friend of his to join.
So stay tuned for that and you will be in
the studio with us for the show. Should be a
good time. We're gonna go as long as it goes. Heck, yeah,
Joe's already on and I haven't even started, and I'm
just taking a deep breath. What are you talking about
at all? Also, we've got some cool shows on our

(03:02):
network that you can check out, Peanut and Butter Mountain,
Peanut Butter Mountain and Mountain Podcast, Off the Trails, The Weirdows,
we Know who runs this park?

Speaker 4 (03:10):
And Crime Off the Grid. Any other updates from you, Joe, No, sir?

Speaker 1 (03:17):
All right, all right, everybody, let's gear up and get
out to explore locations unknown. July twenty first, two thousand

(03:41):
and nine, a seasoned backpacker set off alone into the
rugged wilderness of Arizona's Grand Canyon. Facing scorching heat, limited water,
and treacherous terrain. He soon found himself trapped in a
remote canyon, far from his intended path. As days passed,
searchers raised against time in the harsh environment, uncovering clues

(04:03):
that painted a chilling picture of how quickly nature can
overpower even the most experienced adventure Join us this week
as we investigate the tragic story of Bryce Gillies. So

(04:30):
we're going back to Grand Canyon National Park, specifically near
the North rim area where his disappearance occurred. His disappearance
occurred in a remote, rugged backcountry area known as Benita
Creek Drainage, which is located between Deer Creek and Thunder
River areas west of Surprise Valley and northwest of the
Colorado River. So this is in Arizona. It was established

(04:53):
in February twenty sixth of nineteen nineteen and sees roughly
four point nine million visitors per year of.

Speaker 3 (05:00):
Twenty twenty four. As of twenty twenty four, more recent numbers.
That's right, Yeah, it was always pre COVID. Yeah, then
they didn't run the numbers for a while. Some interesting
facts about Yosemite or not Yosemite Grand Canyon. I don't
know why I said Yosemite.

Speaker 1 (05:14):
Thunder River emerges dramatically from a cave directly from the
canyon wall, creating one of the shortest rivers globally at
just over half a mile long before it joins to
Pete's Creek. It originates from a massive spring that pours
four thousands of gowns of water per minute. Deer Creek
is renowned for its clear, perennial stream and beautiful narrows.

(05:35):
The spot is known as the patio is famous for
its picturesque beauty, with Deer Creek cascading down sandstone walls
into fresh pools, a rare, lush sanctuary in an otherwise
harsh desert landscape. Surprise Valley lies between Deer Creek and
Thunder River, known for its barren desert like conditions, extreme temperatures,
panoramic views, and random surprises.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
I mean the last part. I'm just kidding and react
at all.

Speaker 1 (06:01):
Despite its beauty, it's one of the most difficult and
isolated areas in the Grand Canyon to Traverse, known for
sparse vegetation.

Speaker 2 (06:08):
And limited shade. That's a surprise. You get in there
and it's just treacherous.

Speaker 3 (06:12):
I didn't flinch, but I should have, because I always
joke that I could type in random things like an
anchorman you just read when prompter.

Speaker 2 (06:20):
I probably would.

Speaker 1 (06:22):
Bonita Creek Drainage is an extremely rugged and seldom explored
side of the canyon near Deer Creek. The area features
dry waterfalls known as pour offs, vertical cliffs, and challenging terrain,
making it highly difficult for even experienced backcountry hikers. The
area is geologically fascinating, showcasing multiple visible layers of sedimentary
rock dating back hundreds to millions of years. Hundreds of

(06:46):
millions of years. The Red Wall limestone and to Pete
sandstone formations visible in the cliffs and canyons are highlights
of the area's dramatic geology. Despite harsh conditions, the area
supports diverse wildlife, including the desert bighorn sheep, mule deer, coyotes, bobcats,
and numerous bird species like condors, hawks, and ravens. Due

(07:07):
to the region's remoteness, very few hikers venture here compared
to the more popular South from trails. It remains one
of the least visited backcountry areas in the Park. So
the region holds significant cultural history, with the archaeological sites
from the ancestral Queblin people and the other indigenous tribes
scattered throughoutside that throughout the side of the canyons.

Speaker 3 (07:27):
Real quick, do you see the news they created dire wolves.

Speaker 1 (07:31):
Yeah, but it's fake it they're not. They're like they
like gene edited with crisper regular wolves. So it's like
they made diares.

Speaker 4 (07:40):
We'll see how big they get.

Speaker 3 (07:41):
Yeah, they were five months old and they're already eighty pounds.

Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yeah, it sounds like it was a bad idea.

Speaker 4 (07:48):
Yeah. I feel like there's a movie about this going around.

Speaker 1 (07:50):
Yeah, theres like, where's Jeff Goldbloom talking about chaos theories?

Speaker 2 (07:54):
The shirt off on a couch.

Speaker 3 (07:55):
Can you imagine hiking in the northern part of the
country and you have to worry about dire wolve?

Speaker 2 (08:00):
I know, right, not if you're John snow full size.

Speaker 3 (08:03):
They said they back ten thousand years ago, they got
to six feet one hundred and fifty pound.

Speaker 1 (08:08):
Why is that a smart idea?

Speaker 4 (08:11):
Next, we're going to bring back the sabertooth tigers exactly.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
It's like, let's just bring back a dominant force that
will just eat everything that only people will be able
to hunt.

Speaker 4 (08:20):
Yeah. I don't know, but they did it.

Speaker 1 (08:22):
They didn't listen to Jeff Goldbloom when the first drastic park,
and look what happened.

Speaker 2 (08:28):
It does find a way.

Speaker 1 (08:30):
So we'll talk about the features of North Rim and
Inner Canyon.

Speaker 2 (08:34):
The climate.

Speaker 1 (08:34):
So, the specific region of the Grand Canyon National Park
where Bryce Gillies disappeared is characterized by a harsh, extreme
heat and dry climate, sudden violent summer storms, minimal reliable water,
and dangerous terrain. It is a semi arid to arid
desert climate. Thanks to our friends over at the COPE
and Climate Classification System. Significant temperature variation between the rim

(08:55):
and Canyon bottom due to elevation differences. So the North Rim,
which is approximately eight thousand feet or two thousand and
four and thirty eight meters for our foreign friends, cooler temperatures,
pine forest and occasional snow in the winter, and the
Inner Canyon, which is twenty five hundred feet or seven
hundred and sixty two meters to four thousand feet or
twelve hundred meters, is hot, dried, desert like conditions, little vegetation.

Speaker 2 (09:18):
Sparse water sources.

Speaker 1 (09:20):
The North rims temperature is typically seventy five to eighty
five degrees or twenty four to twenty nine celsius in summer.
The Inner Canyon regularly exceeds over one hundred degrees or
thirty eight degrees celsius, often reaching one hundred and ten
or forty three degrees celsius or higher during peak summer months. Generally,
very low humidity under twenty percent is in the summer.

(09:42):
The summer months soon season July to September brings intense
afternoon thunderstorms, brief heavy rains, flash floods, and lightning. That'd
probably be cool to watch from the top, like in
a safe space. Watching big storms come through the canyon
would probably beautiful.

Speaker 4 (09:56):
Well, I mean this kind of reminds me a little
bit of Zion.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Yeah, when we're in that storm. Yeah, yeah, I remember that.

Speaker 4 (10:03):
Maybe you don't want to be on the rim, but no,
you don't in a hut. Yeah, hut.

Speaker 1 (10:07):
You know how they have those like hotels you can
stay and you'd like, yeah, overlook, I want to be
in there and mart storm coming, not in our position
where we're just running away from flash.

Speaker 4 (10:16):
Flood lasted by sideways.

Speaker 2 (10:18):
Yes, So a little more about the terrain.

Speaker 1 (10:22):
The specific terrain in Benita Creek, Deer Creek, Thunder River,
and Surprise Valley area on the North Rim where he
disappeared as rugged, remote, and challenging. It's an extremely rugged
desert canyon, deeply in size canyon separated by steep cliffs,
sheer rock.

Speaker 2 (10:36):
Walls, and abrupt elevation changes.

Speaker 1 (10:38):
There's limited or no main train trails, and much of
the area involves off trail navigation, so it's very dangerous
in that regard where you can just wander off and
get lost. Yeah, The North Rim Plateau is about eight
thousand feet or twenty four hundred meters, Surprise Value, Surprise
Valley approximately thirty six hundred to four thousand feet or
one thousand to twelve hundred meters, and the collar around

(11:00):
twenty four hundred feet. Some of the dangers in the area,
besides animals, extreme heat and sun exposure. I think that's
gonna be the biggest one. With daytime temperatures exceeding over
one hundred, like two hundred and ten, you need to
have tons of water. You want to be hiking early
and avoid late. Yeah, early or late, avoid peak heat
in the middle of the day. Wear protective clothing, sunscreen, hat, sunglasses,

(11:23):
keep your skin covered. There's not a ton of reliable
water sources. You have some in Thunder River Deer Creek
obviously because they're rivers and creeks, but outside of that
it's very intermitute and absent.

Speaker 2 (11:35):
Especially in the Benita Creek is usually dry, so.

Speaker 1 (11:38):
You want to plan carefully, carry extra water, confirm water
sources ahead of time, have contingency plans. This is where
it's important to go to the ranger station and talk
to the people who wander the park every day and
know what's going on.

Speaker 3 (11:50):
Especially in what's up that low humidity. A hundred degree
heat with twenty percent humidity, it just suck in the water.
Wet is just going to evaporate right off your skin,
which will just cause dehydration to happen that much quicker. Yeah,
your body just won't be able to cool off and
we'll just keep sweating. And we experience that in Canyon

(12:10):
Lands those same kind of conditions, not as hot because
we went later in the year, but the humidity it
was so dry you didn't even feel like you were
like wet from hiking because.

Speaker 1 (12:19):
It just evaporated so fast, just sponged it up.

Speaker 2 (12:23):
Yeah, no bueno.

Speaker 1 (12:25):
So sudden mons do. Soon storms and flash floods are
an issue Arizona summer months. Soon storms can form rapidly,
causing lightning, intense rain, hail, and flash floods. So you
want to check the weather forecasts closely. Avoid narrow canyons
during storm threats, seek higher ground quickly if the storm appears.

Speaker 4 (12:42):
Rain and canyons do not mix for no, not at all.

Speaker 1 (12:47):
Tons of difficult and dangerous trains, deep cliffs, rock scrambles,
loose footing, dry water falls also known as pour offs,
and clearly no clearly marked trails in many areas, so
proper footwear is important, accurate maps, GPS, route finding skills,
experience and technical terrain rope or climbing gear is if necessary. So,

(13:07):
just like we said, there's tons of navigational challenges. You
have complex maze like topography. Many similar looking canyons side
by side can cause hikers to lose track of their
intended route. I could imagine if you're in the bottom
of a canyon, you don't really you really can't get
your three points of triangulation on a map, you know,
if you don't know exactly where you're at, it's just
canyon walls, your guests tough. So having a reliable map,

(13:29):
compass and GPS device, I would say GPS is probably
the most important. Careful pre trip route planning study, marking
the trail junctions, carrying emergency signaling equipment, and in this case,
you want to have one of those satellite rescue things.

Speaker 4 (13:44):
Yeah, one of those beacons.

Speaker 2 (13:45):
You can rent them. Yeah, they're not that expensive.

Speaker 3 (13:48):
If you're gonna do this type of hiking, where you're
going off trail backcountry basically just allowed to go.

Speaker 1 (13:54):
Off trail because out there it's so bad country, Like, yeah,
go wherever you want.

Speaker 4 (13:58):
Yeah, you really need.

Speaker 3 (13:59):
To plan ahead and make sure you know how to
use all this navigational equipment and really have a plan
and how to use a compass, yes, and take even
have a map and mark use your compass and mark
on the map your starting point so that you have
some bearing and be good at it.

Speaker 1 (14:17):
Yeah, and not oh, I've used the map a few
times in a city or whatever. Like, when you're in
a place like that, you need to be good at it.

Speaker 3 (14:24):
And you'll find from the story we're about to talk about.
Make sure you have some rope and some basic knowledge
and how to to climb and maybe how to repel,
because it would have saved this individual's life if he
would have had some.

Speaker 4 (14:41):
Of that gear with him. What else would have worked?
Give away the story.

Speaker 2 (14:49):
We'll get into.

Speaker 1 (14:49):
The rest of the information is just repeat to what
we said. Temperature, extremes, physical exhaustion, all the things you
can imagine a desert like environment you want to avoid.
So let's get into Bryce Gillies. Yeah, like Joe said,
the name of this subject, as Bryce Gillies. He was
born seventh July eighteenth, nineteen eighty nine. He was reported

(15:10):
missing July twenty first of two thousand and nine. His
remains were found July twenty fifth of two thousand and nine.
He was a male, aged twenty. Height was five foot three,
one hundred and thirty pounds, brown hair.

Speaker 4 (15:24):
Blue eyes.

Speaker 3 (15:26):
He was an eagle scout. He was known for his
outdoor skills and many said he was an experienced backpacker
and climb climber. Clothing gear he was last seen in
we don't know a lot about the gear he was
in it. There's some assumptions and based on pictures and
his experience, he probably had a lot of the standard

(15:47):
gear you would have to hike in this environment at
a backpack, and many people originally said that he had
adequate water with him, which we learned later on is
not the case. But he really didn't have any navigational
gear or emergency beacon with the gear that he had,
so that's gonna be a big problem. Personality highly adventurous,

(16:11):
independent spirit. A lot of people said he was driven
by curiosity and an appreciation for natural beauty. He was
said to be responsible ticulous, like I said, as skilled outdoorsman.
He was also dedicated, community orientated individual. He was involved
in humanitarian work. He was also very intelligent, academically gifted.

(16:33):
He was a physics major, and before this hike, he
was known for being cautious and well prepared, so this
was very unusual for him. No medical issues were known
at the time occupation hobby, so he was still a
college student in Northern Arizona University. Like I said, a
physics major. He was an outdoor enthusiast. He hiked, kayakedt

(16:56):
he climbed, He backpacked, and very charitable. He volunteered with
Engineers Without Borders. And he recently had returned from a
humanitarian trip in Ghana, so they were building medical clinics.
Sounds like a really good guy and up until this
point a very cautious but experienced outdoorsman, and everyone said
that he had extensive He was only twenty years old,

(17:18):
but he had extensive wilderness experience, and he did backpack
in long distance hiking. He did have some backcountry survival experience.
He like I said, he kayaked, He was a climber.
He completed already completed sections of the Appalachian trail, which
is pretty impressive at only the age of twenty and

(17:39):
experience in this location. He was familiar with the broader
Grand Canyon region as a student living in the area,
but how specific in this experience in this specific location,
the Deer Creek Thunder River area of the.

Speaker 4 (17:53):
North Rim was limited, okay.

Speaker 3 (17:56):
And this area is so rugged and intense you would
have to be I don't know, you'd have to hike
this a lot to really start to feel comfortable out here.

Speaker 2 (18:07):
Yeah, I can see that.

Speaker 3 (18:09):
And the trip was reportedly inspired by a magazine, but
I think it was Backpacker. They did an article on
this hike, so that was his inspiration.

Speaker 2 (18:20):
Okay.

Speaker 3 (18:20):
And for those of you just listening, Joe has got
Google Earth up and we're starting to look at the
location that he went missing in.

Speaker 4 (18:27):
It's intense.

Speaker 2 (18:29):
Yeah, there's not a lot going on, okay.

Speaker 3 (18:32):
So right into timeline, we are starting July. So it's
July eighteenth and July nineteenth of two thousand and nine.
So on Saturday, which was actually his twentieth birthday, he
set off alone for a backpacking trip into the Grand
into Grand Canyon National Park's North Rim backcountry. He drove

(18:54):
to the remote bill Hall Trailhead, a starting point for
access to Deer Creek and thought Under River trails on
the North Rim. The bill Head bill Hall Trailhead is
located along a rough forest road about halfway between the
Parks Sweep area and the main developed North Rim facilities.

(19:15):
From this trailhead, hikers can drop into the canyon towards
features like Surprise Valley, Thunder River, to Pete's Creek and
Deer Creek. Gilly's goal was to reach Deer Creek Thunder
River area, known for its waterfalls and water sources, and
he likely planned a two night route, expecting the hike

(19:36):
out by Monday. Before heading in, he had informed others
that he would be back by July twentieth, but unfortunately,
I don't think it was very well known what route
he was going to take, so he didn't really inform anyone.

Speaker 2 (19:48):
On they just the time.

Speaker 3 (19:52):
Yeah, So this solo trek was the culmination of his
summer adventures. Gillies I had read enticing descriptions of the
Thunder River in Deer Creek Oasis and was eager to
experience canyon perfection, as he called it, firsthand. He started
down the trail with a backpack full of supplies. This

(20:12):
was an assumption that was later put into question. By
all accounts, he was well prepared with water for the
planned route and had the skills of an eagle scout
and season hiker. The weather at the outset was tropical
for midsummer in the Grand Canyon. It was very hot
and dry. Daytime high temperatures in the canyon's north rim
and in your canyons were in the ninety degree fahrenheit

(20:36):
range mid thirties celsius, with the lower elevations even hotter.
What are we looking at here? Is that Benita?

Speaker 2 (20:44):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (20:45):
A cow?

Speaker 2 (20:46):
What go down? Oh?

Speaker 4 (20:49):
No, it's a rock? Yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 1 (20:56):
So I see this is apparently right by Benita Creek.

Speaker 4 (21:02):
Oh that's the Colorado River.

Speaker 2 (21:03):
Yeah. And this is to Pete's Creek. Yeah. Oh yeah,
we're not like you're like right here is in the
mouth of where the Pete enters the Colorado River.

Speaker 1 (21:11):
Okay, supposedly sometimes these are off. No, that looks like
it's correct.

Speaker 3 (21:15):
And that one's dry a lot of the time in
the summer. Yeah, so makes sense. Yep, okay. Gillies descended
into the harsh environment alone, aiming to camp in the
canyon and reached the flowing waters of Thunder River or
Deer Creek where he could replenish his water. It's also
good to note there were no incidents reported on the

(21:37):
eighteenth or nineteenth to the National Park Service. And that
makes sense because this is a very remote part of
the park and there is no cell phone reception down here.
So it's believed he hiked down from the rim and
into Surprise Valley, which Joe had said earlier is basically
a desert this and this is the central area between

(22:00):
Thunder River and Deer Creek drainages. At some point, however,
he made a critical navigational air. Instead of staying on
the established route to his water resupply the Thunder River
spring or to Pete's Creek, Gillies apparently veered into the
wrong canyon drainage. Evidence later suggests he turned down Bonita Creek,

(22:22):
an adjacent side drainage by mistake. This small navigational air,
as his father later called it, would prove fatal when
compounded by the extreme heat and terrain.

Speaker 1 (22:34):
Yeah this is a shot from inside Surprise Valley. Yeah,
that's just rugged rocks, no no cover, no cover from
the sun like anywhere.

Speaker 3 (22:45):
No vegetation really other than just some small grasses and
some cactus here and there. And yeah, it's a brutal environment.
And this is bringing back memories of Canyon Lens that's
kind of the same environment. Yeah, this story really brought
home our experience we had in Canyon Lands because we
didn't experience quite what he did, but we ran out

(23:06):
of water and it was a similar environment. It looks
very similar to this. I'm probably more dry than this even.

Speaker 2 (23:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (23:17):
So he went down one of these kind of like
what these guys are doing. Yeah, but he went down
one too steep that he couldn't get back up.

Speaker 3 (23:24):
Yeah, pretty much. Yeah, he kept going off of what
do they call him pour offs? Yeah, so dry waterfalls,
and he kept climbing down him, but then got to
a point where he couldn't go down more and couldn't
go back up.

Speaker 2 (23:35):
Oh it's terrible.

Speaker 3 (23:37):
So, like we said, he was unaware of the mistake
at first, and he continued down Benita Creek Canyon, moving
further from the trail and the reliable water sources he
intended to find. It's now July twentieth, two thousand and nine,
a Monday, so this is day three. This was the
day he was expected to return.

Speaker 2 (23:58):
So he was trying to get to Thunder River. He
ended up in Benita.

Speaker 4 (24:01):
He went down the wrong drainage.

Speaker 1 (24:03):
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. So he was in here, Yeah,
and he meant to go this way, but he ended
up following this one. If that's Benita, Yeah, this is Benita. Yeah,
because that he did, I don't even think he got
that far.

Speaker 2 (24:16):
Yeah, he gets some stuck all right. Yeah, this looks
pretty gnarly up probably.

Speaker 4 (24:21):
Yeah, and we don't even know if he was.

Speaker 1 (24:25):
On Yeah, here's surprise Valley. So he should have went
over to here and he went down there.

Speaker 2 (24:30):
Yeah, okay, and.

Speaker 3 (24:32):
He probably got stuck in right in there somewhere you
think right away. No, not right there, like a little
further down right, probably somewhere.

Speaker 2 (24:42):
Yeah. This is this doesn't do it justice either. Oh what?

Speaker 4 (24:45):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (24:45):
All right.

Speaker 3 (24:46):
Monday, July twentieth came and went with no sign of
Gilly's return. This was, like I said, the day he
had told people he would be back from his trip.
When he did not show up or check in by
the end of the day, family and friends grew concerned.
Gilly's father Randy Gillies was expecting to hear from him
on the twentieth. By the next morning, which would have

(25:07):
been July twenty first, with still no word, the alarm
was raised. At this point those close to Bryce realized
he was overdue in the canyon and might be in trouble. However,
it's not uncommon for Grand Canyon backpackers to run run
a few hours late, and honestly, it's not uncommon for

(25:28):
backpack hiking anywhere for you to be.

Speaker 4 (25:30):
A little off your schedule.

Speaker 3 (25:32):
Yeah, that's why you don't want to, like panic if
someone's a half a day late.

Speaker 4 (25:37):
It happens. People.

Speaker 3 (25:39):
You usually overestimate how you think it's going to be
easier than it is.

Speaker 2 (25:43):
Yeah, so that underestimate.

Speaker 4 (25:45):
Underestimate.

Speaker 1 (25:46):
I say, I usually overestimate because I like no, and
I'm like, okay, I gotta give myself a little leeway here.

Speaker 4 (25:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (25:53):
I always think, oh, it's fifteen miles and we'll do
this an X amount of time, and then.

Speaker 2 (25:58):
It's usually you more than that.

Speaker 3 (26:01):
Well, it's always more than that. Yeah, it's a it's
a joke. It's always Summit's right up over that, it's
over the next hill.

Speaker 2 (26:09):
We're right there, right there.

Speaker 4 (26:11):
Now, we're still my way. That's common.

Speaker 3 (26:14):
So yeah, it's not uncommon for Grand Canyon backpackers to
run a few hours late, but entire overnight overdue was
caused for serious worry the family new Brice was experienced
and cautious, so for him not to make it make
contact his plan indicated a potential emergency. Also very important
to this case, Gilles had not obtained a backcountry permit

(26:35):
or filed and official trip itinerary with the Park Service prior.

Speaker 2 (26:39):
To his hike.

Speaker 3 (26:41):
I think anyone want any takeaway from this case, one
of the most important things is always obtain that backcountry
permit and file the itinerary with MPs.

Speaker 4 (26:53):
It will benefit you if you get lost.

Speaker 3 (26:55):
Yeah they fly a helicopter right over there, and yeah
they'll that gives the i'm a starting point of where
to look for you. It's not great to do this
just off book regardless, but just for your own safety,
you should do this every time. So this, like I said,
this meant that park rangers had no immediate record of

(27:16):
his plan, route, or destination. The only information available initially
came from Bryce's family and friends once they realized he
was missing. The problem also with this is the NPS
would have been alerted sooner if he hadn't come out
of there.

Speaker 1 (27:35):
So, yeah, it's easy for them to do like an
initial Yeah.

Speaker 3 (27:40):
So the concern prompted Bryce's family prepare to notify park authorities.
The Grand Canyon's backcountry permit system, which is required for
overnight trips, is one way the park tracks were hikers
intended to be, but without a permanent file for Gillies,
the search would have to start from scratch. It's now
July twenty four, first, two thousand and nine, which is

(28:01):
a Tuesday. This is the fourth day. This is the
day he would have been He's officially reported missing, so Tuesday,
July two thousand and nine. In the situation escalated by
the evening of July twenty first, Bryce Gillies was officially
reported missing in Grand Canyon National Park. Around that evening,
the Grand Canyon Regional Communications Center, which is park Dispatch,

(28:25):
received a report that an overdue hiker or possibly multiple hikers,
had not returned from a backpacking trip in the Deer
Creek Thunder River area. This report came from Bryce's father,
who called park officials when his son failed to come
home as scheduled. There was also part of the park
didn't even know how many people were in his hiking
party at this point, so initially there was some confusion

(28:47):
about the party size. The report suggested that at least
one and as many as three young men might be
missing on the trip. This uncertainty arose because it was
immediately it wasn't immediately clear if Bryce had gone alone
or if any friends had accompanied him. Acting swiftly, park
rangers began contacting Gilly's acquaintances to gather information.

Speaker 2 (29:12):
See this stinks because I'm looking at this. This is
what he thought he was going to. Yeah, it's like
way easier to go down. There's actual water, and.

Speaker 4 (29:20):
You'll find he wasn't that far from there.

Speaker 2 (29:23):
Yeah it was. It's right here. This is the difference.

Speaker 1 (29:27):
Yeah, so he instead of going this way, he just
went this way and it starts off looking similar, yeah,
from what it looks like, but.

Speaker 4 (29:36):
You can see the greened the greenery in there, so
I mean that.

Speaker 2 (29:41):
Yeah. I wonder if he liked flowing water. Yeah he didn't.

Speaker 1 (29:44):
He probably just didn't know like the area well enough
to know he should be expecting certain things, and he's
probably thinking, oh, it's go down lower, Just go down lower,
all right, keep going.

Speaker 4 (29:55):
He wasn't aware that he was lost yet.

Speaker 1 (29:57):
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like, I think by the
time he noticed, that's when it was too late, which
is just so unfortunate.

Speaker 4 (30:03):
And because of sorry, I got locked out of the notes.
So I'm gonna no, it's fine. I'm rambling.

Speaker 2 (30:08):
This is oddly beautiful.

Speaker 1 (30:10):
It's funny because you go there there's like nothing there,
but then you're there and it's so massive, so big.

Speaker 3 (30:16):
Yeah, And logically, I feel like he did what most
people would do. You're thinking, all right, I just gotta
keep going down. I'm gonna eventually hit the Colorado River.

Speaker 4 (30:27):
Yeah, that is.

Speaker 3 (30:28):
Logically probably what he was thinking. And if some point
he's probably I'm lost, Okay, if I just keep going down,
I know the Colorado River's down there.

Speaker 1 (30:36):
That is a good point, because most people are lost,
they don't know where they're at. But if you're in
one of these, it does all of them go to
the Colorado River.

Speaker 4 (30:45):
They all go down to the Colorado River.

Speaker 3 (30:47):
So logically, if you don't know about those pour offs,
you're thinking, like, all right, I just keep going down.

Speaker 4 (30:55):
I'll get to the river. That makes sense.

Speaker 2 (30:57):
I probably would have done the same thing, but you.

Speaker 3 (30:59):
Don't think about and I probably wouldn't have known about
this either. Is those poor offs and how you can
get stuck on them if.

Speaker 4 (31:06):
You don't have any clothing.

Speaker 1 (31:07):
I didn't say, although here I'd probably have rope at
a minimuiz.

Speaker 3 (31:10):
I always carry rope when I hiked in the Southwest,
just because of situation.

Speaker 4 (31:16):
We had some situations.

Speaker 3 (31:17):
Where we we could get down, but we needed to
lower our bags first.

Speaker 4 (31:22):
Like it wouldn't been able.

Speaker 3 (31:22):
We wouldn't have been able to go down with our
bags on, so just having rope to do that. So
it's always important to bring some rope with you. It's
not that heavy. So yeah, like I said, the search
is kicking off. They're trying to verify if there were
any other hikers in his party. Late night, park investigators

(31:43):
had determined that Bryce most likely went to the canyon
alone and there were no other.

Speaker 4 (31:47):
Missing persons associated with the incident.

Speaker 3 (31:50):
This allowed rescuers to focus on a single missing individual
rather than a larger group. With the missing person's report filed,
Grand Canyon National Park, search and rescue personnel were mobilized
even On the night of July twenty first, some initial
steps were taken. Park staff began their initial investigations. They're
in the planning phase right now. They're planning aerial reconnaissance

(32:15):
for the next day of all the known trails and
major dranges in the area where.

Speaker 4 (32:19):
He was believed to be.

Speaker 3 (32:21):
They were contacting other hikers or river rafting groups in
the region asked if they'd seen any sign of him.
It's now July twenty second, two thousand and nine, Wednesday.
This is day five of the disappearance, so now the
search is beginning in earnest, so full scale searches started.
Operations in progress on the North Rim. Early that day,

(32:44):
park rangers located his car parked at the bill Hall
trailhead on the North Rim. Finding this vehicle was a
critical early clue. It confirmed his point of entry and
he had indeed started down from that trail. So sometimes
in these cases they don't even find the car. That
makes it even harder because you don't know the point

(33:05):
of entry. The bill Hall Trailhead is a remote parking
area used to access the Thunder River Deer Creek trail system.
Gillie's car being there meant he had gone into the
canyon from that spot on July eighteenth and had not
returned to it. The discovery narrowed the initial the search
initially to the routes accessible from that trailhead, but there

(33:27):
were still many miles of trails and side canyons to cover.
Throughout July twenty second, the Star teams carried out wide
ranging search tactics. An NPS helicopter conducted aerial searches, flying
over trails, drainages, and accessible canyon areas, looking for any
sign of the missing hiker, such as a person or

(33:47):
campsite or signal fire on the ground excuse.

Speaker 4 (33:52):
Me on the ground.

Speaker 3 (33:53):
Rangers began to sweep the trails in the Deer Creek,
Thunder River and adjoining areas. They also interviewed other backcountry hikers,
river rafting trips on the Colorado River, and fellow backpackers
in the vicinity. They were all contact to see if
any of them encountered Bryce. The hope was that someone
might have seen him over the weekend, which could pinpoint

(34:15):
his path or last known locations. Unfortunately, these early efforts
yielded no immediate sightings. However, the Grand Canyon backcountry in
the region is like Joe mentioned earlier in the beginning
of the episode, it's a maze with deep side canyons
separated by arid plateaus like Surprise Valley, So spotting a

(34:37):
lone individual is extremely challenging. By Wednesday evening, the search
command refined their strategy, knowing now that they were looking
for a single hiker. Late on July twenty second, ground
search teams were inserted into the backcountry to begin a
more thorough search in likely areas. And inserted just means

(34:59):
they were flown in by helicopter and dropped in.

Speaker 2 (35:02):
So that just makes hiking easier.

Speaker 3 (35:04):
It makes it easier on the searchers, and they can
really use that to pinpoint certain areas, get like a
go team.

Speaker 4 (35:11):
On the ground right away.

Speaker 1 (35:12):
I'm assuming there you have to hike a significant distance
just to start your hike. So if it cuts that timeout,
that makes the most sense. You already have the helicopter.

Speaker 2 (35:21):
Searching the area already.

Speaker 3 (35:23):
And it allows you to have searchers in multiple different areas,
like right away, because time is of the essence in
this search, because he's going to be running out of water.

Speaker 2 (35:31):
Quick yeah, and they're already five days into this thing.

Speaker 4 (35:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (35:34):
Rescuers likely camped out in the canyon that night, prepared
to resume at first light. The first full day of
searching concluded with Gillies still missing, but with crucial clues
like his car and groundwork laid for an intensified search.
So it's now July twenty third of two thousand and nine,
a Thursday. This is now day six of the case,

(35:59):
so the search is now intensifying. The operations ramped up significantly.
There was still no sign of Gillies, but the Grand
Canyon officials are expanding their resources. At this time, the
search area was broad and rugged, spanning from the Deer
Creek drainage, across Surprise Valley to the Pets Creek drainage

(36:20):
and down to the Colorado River, essentially all the canyons
accessible from where Bryce started. Search managers were essentially covering
multiple potential routes since they had no knowledge of mister
Gilly's specific plans. On July twenty third, two additional ground
search teams were flown in and deployed in a joint effort.

(36:42):
These teams composed of park rangers and trained search and
rescue personnel, and they were assigned to a systematically scour
different areas.

Speaker 4 (36:55):
By this day now, there were.

Speaker 3 (36:56):
Approximately fifty personnel involved in the search and including NPS rangers,
backcountry search specialists, and volunteers form not only Grand Canyon
National Park but also neighboring parks. Rangers from Zion National
Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area were brought into
assist bollstreaing the manpower and expertise on the ground.

Speaker 2 (37:18):
Real quick, this is not a Grand Canyon, but this
is a pour off.

Speaker 4 (37:22):
Yeah, it's a drive a waterfall.

Speaker 2 (37:24):
Yeah. So like you can imagine getting stuck at the
top and going ooh.

Speaker 4 (37:27):
And then you can't get out.

Speaker 1 (37:29):
Yeah, and if you can't climb back up, you're just
stuck in this little spot. Yeah, and then exposed a
full sun.

Speaker 4 (37:34):
All day baking.

Speaker 2 (37:35):
Yeah. Just oh that's terrible. Yeah, all right, go on.

Speaker 3 (37:40):
So it's really cool that one of the coolest things
of out West is there's so many national parks in
a pretty close areas. Grand Canyon was able to pull
resources from Zion and Glenn Canyon National Recreation Area to
help with the search, so that that does happen for
some of these bigger searches. The team split up to

(38:02):
cover critical zones. One focus was the Deer Creek Thunder
River Trail corridor, since that was Gilly's reported destination. Ground
crews searched along established trail side paths and water sources.
Another focus was the adjacent Surprise Valley and nearby drainages.
Surprise Valley is a scorching, sparse area between to Pete's

(38:24):
and Deer Creek.

Speaker 4 (38:24):
If Gillies got lost there, he would be very exposed.

Speaker 3 (38:28):
The park helicopter continued to conduct aerial sweeps whenever possible,
flying low over canyon drainages to spot any trace of Bryce. However,
like in most cases we cover, the weather did not cooperate,
so summer weather began to complicate the search. Joe mentioned
earlier July is monsoon season in Arizona, and by the

(38:49):
afternoon of the twenty third, thunderstorms were building. The helicopter
had to search as weather permits, meaning the flights could
be grounded by storm cells or turbulence. CRU's on foot
also had to be cautious of lightning and flash flood
risks in the canyons, so basically, if any weather rolls
in the afternoon, the search pretty much shuts down until

(39:10):
that's out of there, because all of these canyons can
get flooded pretty quickly, even if the rain is twenty
miles away, So they're not going to risk a whole
search team. They have to stand down, which, like we said,
time is of the essence in a search in this environment.
Throughout this day, unfortunately, rescuers were on high alert for

(39:32):
any clue of footprints discarded gear camp remains, but they
didn't find anything. They didn't there was no definitive sign
of Bryce Gillies in the area.

Speaker 4 (39:43):
Even though this nothing had.

Speaker 3 (39:45):
Been found yet, morale among searchers remained determined, and Gilly's
family waited anxiously for news. Park spokesperson Shannon Murcack Murka Murkhac, Sorry,
we'll cut all that out, Nope, Nope, issued a statement
on July twenty third, describing the intensified search and urging
anyone who might have seen Bryce after July eighteenth to

(40:06):
contact the NPS tip line. The searchers knew that with
each passing day in the intense heat, the situation grew
more dire, so they pressed on into the next day.
It's now Friday, July twenty fourth, two thousand and nine,
and this is day seven of when he started his hike.
The search is continuing. This marked the third full day

(40:30):
of searching, and crews continued to comb the Grand Canyons
backcountry for any trace of the missing student. Search and
rescue teams scoured a wide swath of rugged terrain on Friday.
Ground teams and aerial units coordinated to cover as much
area as possible. Specific areas targeted this day included Surprise Valley,

(40:51):
the Thunder River Overlook, and the Tipedes Creek area. These
locations cover both sides of Surprise Valley. One team likely
pared down into Deer Creek and Benita Canyon on the
west side, while another team covered Thunder River and the
Tweeds Creek to the east by extending the search all
the way down to the river. Teams were also checking

(41:12):
the Colorado River Corridor in case Bryson made it to
the water or if any sign had washed downstream. Environmental
conditions on July twenty fourth were challenging. The National Weather
Service forecast showed a fifty percent chance of afternoon thunderstorms,
and temperatures soared into the high nineties or thirty six

(41:33):
thirty seven celsius in the search area for search teams.
Storms could be a double edged sword. Cooler temperatures and
rain might provide slight relief and perhaps water sources, but
they also could hamper visibility and mobility. The heat earlier
in the day remained a major concern. Anyone lost without
water in this climate would be engraved danger of dehydration

(41:54):
and heat stroke. By Friday, the search effort had been exhaustive,
yet no public announcement of found items had been made.
During the day, Gilly's family and the park crew, park
staff grew more concerned with each hour. It is likely
that on July twenty fourth, searchers finally started to find
critical clues, although this was not announced until the next morning.

(42:18):
According to the Park Service, personal items belonging to Bryce,
including his including a backpack, were discovered in the vicinity
of Benita Creek at some point during the search. This
discovery obviously is pivotal. Benita Creek is rugged side canyon
west of Deer Creek Trail. It's off the main maintained trails,

(42:38):
would not usually be visited by a hiker intentionally, especially
when looking for a thunder River or Deer Creek. Finding
Bryce's backpack or gear signaled that he had indeed strayed
into Benita Creek drainage. The timing of this find is
not explicitly stated, but officials official reports suggest that by

(42:59):
early July twenty fifth, rescuers had these clues in hand
and thus redirected their efforts to the Benita Creek area.
So it is possible that these items were found late
on the twenty fourth, which was Friday evening, or at
first light on the twenty fifth, but either way it
prompted a complete shift in the search operation. By the

(43:21):
end of day three, search leaders had their first solid lead,
Bryce s. Gillies had been in the Benita Creek drainage.
They prepared to concentrate their resources there at daybreak. It's
now Saturday, July twenty fifth, two thousand and nine, day eight.
Can you imagine. I don't think you could survive out
there for eight to.

Speaker 1 (43:40):
Nights, No, not in that heat. No, three days without
water generally. Yeah, so like in the heat, I can't
imagine it was more than a day, yeah, or two
honestly at most, which is like almost better for him,
rather than suffering for several days in the heat.

Speaker 4 (43:56):
Yeah, So that's just really.

Speaker 3 (43:58):
Sad, so sadly, Saturday, July fifth of two thousand and
nine would bring a tragic end to the search. Armed
with the knowledge that Bryce's belongings were in the Benita
Creek drainage, rescuers narrowed their search to the specific area
and the surrounding terrain. Early that morning, teams moved into

(44:19):
Benita Creek Canyon, approaching for multiple directions. One search team
was tasked to come upstream from the Colorado River confluence,
moving up Benita Creek towards the last known clues. Meanwhile,
other personnel likely came in from above, hiking down from
Surprise Valley. At approximately nine to thirty am on Saturday,

(44:40):
July twenty fifth, a ground search team ascending front ascending
the Benita Creek drainage drainage from the river made the
sad discovery. They found the body of a young male
at the top of a one hundred foot pour off
in Benita Canyon. The location was less than half a
mile from where Benita Creek meets the Colorado River.

Speaker 2 (45:01):
So that's right here.

Speaker 1 (45:02):
Yeah, it looks and this looks like a giant pour off, which.

Speaker 4 (45:07):
Is about that looks like about a half mile.

Speaker 2 (45:11):
Yeah, I did as a crow flies.

Speaker 4 (45:14):
It is.

Speaker 3 (45:15):
Now when you're done doing the crow flies, zoom back
into that spot.

Speaker 2 (45:20):
Oh, twenty six hundred feet is roughly half mile. So
it's like in this range from where.

Speaker 4 (45:28):
Zoom into kind of that range where you saw.

Speaker 3 (45:31):
Yeah, yeah, that's right where. Yeah, zoom, that's right here.
Zoom and moore because I think.

Speaker 2 (45:37):
There's no it doesn't get better.

Speaker 3 (45:39):
So a picture, that's what situation he was in. He
was coming down from the top.

Speaker 2 (45:44):
There might be like a ledge right here.

Speaker 1 (45:46):
Yeah, it came down here, got stuck and couldn't go
down any farther.

Speaker 3 (45:50):
And at this point he's probably not only dehydrated but weak. Yeah,
so even if there was a chance, and that looks
like it could be about one hundred foot drop.

Speaker 1 (46:00):
Yeah, it's aggressive and this is just the rendering. But
when I was like, by comparison, I'll go into this canyon. Yeah,
that's right here, and this one's way flatter.

Speaker 3 (46:10):
And that's why I saw a trail. That's why people,
that's why you hike that one, you.

Speaker 1 (46:14):
Know, like this one's way flatter and you can see
it's not water, yeah, and it's not nothing as far
as the distance down and like just down to this
little river.

Speaker 3 (46:23):
And I think he zoom out. There's a trail on
the other side that you can see from the air.

Speaker 2 (46:27):
Part of it's right here.

Speaker 4 (46:28):
Yeah, it's just unfortunate you take it wrong. Yeah, you
can see that. I mean it's from from this it's
he should.

Speaker 2 (46:35):
Have gone down here. He went down here.

Speaker 4 (46:37):
First, which is crazy. How close he was.

Speaker 3 (46:40):
Yeah, half a mile from the Colorado. And that's why
the park Service said no one takes that route because it's.

Speaker 2 (46:48):
For that reason.

Speaker 3 (46:48):
And it looks like if he could have gotten now
we're assuming this.

Speaker 2 (46:52):
Is Yeah, I don't have real pictures of this area.

Speaker 3 (46:55):
But I feel like if he had gotten past that
hundred foot pour off.

Speaker 4 (46:59):
Oh look, the rest of you kind of made it
down there.

Speaker 2 (47:01):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (47:01):
You can see from the river it's you still save
but you can all see almost all the way up
in there. Yeah, so it probably wouldn't have been so bad.
I don't know, that's crazy.

Speaker 3 (47:14):
It just shocks me how close you know, he was
a half mile to the Colorado.

Speaker 4 (47:19):
So close.

Speaker 2 (47:20):
Yeah, that's really sad.

Speaker 3 (47:22):
So, like we said, his body was found nine thirty
am on Saturday, July twenty fifth. They found like we said.
They found him at the top of a one hundred
foot pour off. The location was a half mile from
the Colorado River. Rangers on the scene presumptively identified the

(47:43):
remains as Bryce, who was the only person who had
been reported missing in the area. Near the body, searchers
also found another backpack and personal items, confirming it was
likely him the discovery site. A deep was deep in
the canyon indicate that Bryce had nearly made it to
the river. He was roughly half a mile from the

(48:06):
Colorado but was stopped by the final one hundred foot
drop off in Benita Creek.

Speaker 4 (48:11):
With the heartbreaking.

Speaker 3 (48:13):
Find, the multi day search and rescue operation transition to
a recovery mission. Park officials coordinated the retrieval of the
body from the difficult location. A helicopter was brought in
and using a technical long line operation, rangers lifted the
body via helicopter out of the canyon and transported it
to the rim From there, the remains were taken to

(48:35):
the Kachino County Medical Examiner's office for formal identification and
determined cause of death. The recovery operation likely took a
few hours on Saturday, and by afternoon the news was
relayed to the Gilles family. The discovery of Bryce Gilly's
body on July twenty fifth ended the intensive four day

(48:55):
search that had involved fifty personnel from Grand Canyon National
Park as well as assisting staff from Zion National Park
and Glenn Canyon. The crews had deployed aircraft, ground teams,
technical rescuers, and countless man hours in the rugged, remote
wilderness to find Bryce. The outcome was not what anyone

(49:16):
had hoped for. Park ranger and Peterson, who led the
search and her team, brought closure by locating Bryce, but
it was a somber moment. The news was soon shared
with the public, and associated press bulletin that afternoon reported
that the body was presumptively identified as Bryce Gillies and
that it was found Saturday morning. So we're not gonna

(49:40):
have our normal theories because we know what happened. Yeah,
but it's yeah, I'm just gonna discuss the aftermath of
what happened to Bryce. So in the days immediately following
the recovery, park officials and Gillies and Gilly's family reflected
on what happened. On twenty six and twenty seven of

(50:02):
two thousand and nine, in the National Park Service, and
media reported the incident's conclusion. The body was obviously confirmed
to b Bryce Gillies, and attention turned to how and
why this tragedy. Tragedy occurred. The medical examiner's view, along
with evidence that the scene indicated Bryce likely died of
dehydration and heat related illness or heat stroke, and originally

(50:27):
may have said it was exacerbated by a faller injury,
but his father said that his body didn't show any
signs of a faller injury and it was likely dehydration.
The narrative that emerged was one of a capable young
man overtaken by unforgiving conditions after a small mistake. Investigators

(50:47):
pieced together that when Bryce mistakenly went down beneath a creek,
he found himself an increasingly treacherous terrain.

Speaker 4 (50:54):
Without a water source.

Speaker 3 (50:57):
He had carried enough water for his planned route, but
that plan hinged on reaching Thunder River to refill. By
going the wrong way, he missed that opportunity. Facing extreme
thirst as his water ran out in the hundred edegree
fair night heat, Bryce apparently made heroic efforts to save himself.

(51:17):
According to this was a quote from his dad Bryce
made a heroic effort to rescue himself himself, his father,
Randy Gillis said, of the situation, evidence suggests Bryce attempted
to climb down towards the Colorado River in search of water.
He descended several twenty to thirty five foot rock ledges
without rope, incredibly dangerous feeds, trying to reach the flowing

(51:41):
river of the or the creek blows.

Speaker 2 (51:43):
So that that's tough.

Speaker 3 (51:44):
That is tough, thirty five foot ledge without rope.

Speaker 4 (51:48):
He's lucky he.

Speaker 3 (51:49):
Didn't fall and break his legs doing that. That's probably
the limit of what I mean, other than the one
guy who climbed half dome.

Speaker 2 (51:58):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (51:59):
So unfortunately, he either became trapped above the one hundred
foot sheer pour off or it was too weakned to continue.
Investigators believe extreme heat and dehydration overwhelmed him. In such conditions,
dehydration can occur in as little as a couple of hours.

Speaker 4 (52:16):
Randy Gillis noted grimly.

Speaker 3 (52:19):
Bryce likely perished sometime between July twentieth and July twenty
second in the drainage before rescuers could find him. There
was no indication of foul play. It was a fatal
combination of wrong turn, harsh environment, and physical limits being pushed.

(52:39):
Gilly's family, while devastated, chose to emphasize lessons that could
prevent future tragedies. Randy Gillis publicly thanked the searchers for
their exhaust of efforts to find his son and praise
their dedication. He also turned his focus to advocacy, urging
other wilderness adventures to learn from Bryce's case. In interview,

(53:00):
he stressed the importance of always filing a bad country
permit and leaving a detailed trip plan with the park
or someone responsible. That's if you don't take anything else
from this tragic story.

Speaker 1 (53:12):
She make a venn diagram of how to not get
lost in National Park and it'll all culminate and tell
someone where you're gonna be and actually be there. Yes,
it quite literally has come down to that for so
many people. Yeah, it's I hate to think about it. Like,
he probably would have been fine if they knew he
was even if they knew he was supposed to go
to the other drainage, because they would check both of

(53:32):
them and be able to.

Speaker 2 (53:33):
Do it relatively quickly.

Speaker 3 (53:35):
Yeah, because they said he either he passed away either
on between the twentieth and twenty second. He started on
the eighteenth and the twenty second. The search started on
the twenty second, So yeah, yeah, maybe potentially in this case,
because of how harsh the environment was, he may have

(53:56):
already passed away before the search even started.

Speaker 2 (53:58):
Yeah, a good point.

Speaker 3 (54:00):
But either way, it's you can't stress enough.

Speaker 1 (54:04):
Yeah, there's no reason why you'd take an extra arrow
out of your quiver, like just it's a really easy
thing to do to just add another thing that could
help you potentially, And I.

Speaker 3 (54:15):
Think this underscores if you're going to do some really
gnarly backcountry hiking like this, have a personal locator beacon
on you.

Speaker 1 (54:26):
Yeah, or and go with other people, yeah, hiking a
group yep.

Speaker 3 (54:31):
So though if he had been with his friends, they
might have all ended up on that pour off.

Speaker 4 (54:37):
It's combing to the elements too.

Speaker 1 (54:39):
I would imagine that like one would go down at
a time and just in case. But yeah, yeah, either way,
we can play what ifs all day.

Speaker 4 (54:47):
It just the sheer odds.

Speaker 3 (54:50):
If you have more people in the group, one of
them might have realized they're in the wrong spot.

Speaker 2 (54:56):
Yeah, and not even gone into that drainage yeah.

Speaker 3 (54:59):
One of them like, hey, hey, I don't think this
is right. Let's turn around and go back the other way.
Just having more eyes on the situation I think would
have benefited.

Speaker 2 (55:07):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (55:07):
Absolutely, We go back to the aftermath section. Here Julius
spot I went up to see when the search started.
Let's see here, I highlighted. You can click on my name.

Speaker 4 (55:19):
There we go.

Speaker 3 (55:21):
So park officials echoed what we just spent five minutes
talking about. It's always let someone know where you're going
and when you'll be back. This just underscores how critical
that information can be for saving life. Beyond permits, there
were other safety takeaways. Grand Canyon rangers noted the Gillies
was hiking in one of the most remote and demanding
areas of the park during the hottest time of the year.

(55:42):
That's why we did Canyon Lands in September not July,
because it gets to one hundred degrees there too. It's
just you don't want to hike in the desert at
that time.

Speaker 4 (55:52):
Of the year.

Speaker 3 (55:52):
And we also we started each day off at dusk,
and by eleven o'clock we would take a break in
the shade and we'd start hiking again.

Speaker 4 (56:04):
In the afternoon two or three.

Speaker 2 (56:06):
Just when it's not peak.

Speaker 3 (56:07):
You don't want to you just when you're hiking in
that kind of heat, you just don't want to hike
at peak.

Speaker 4 (56:12):
Son. Yeah, but it slows the whole trip down.

Speaker 3 (56:15):
But anyone listening who's hiked in the Southwest, they'll know
what I'm talking about.

Speaker 4 (56:19):
It's just hot and brutal.

Speaker 2 (56:20):
Yeah, it's way less grueling.

Speaker 4 (56:22):
It feels like you're hiking in an oven.

Speaker 1 (56:24):
Just planned for that time, and then it doesn't feel
like you're wasting time. Just if this is where the
planning comes in. If you know that you're not going
to be moving at peak time, yeah, you'll plan appropriately.

Speaker 2 (56:33):
It's not gonna bug you can you know what.

Speaker 3 (56:35):
You're in beautiful land. Yeah, just sit and enjoy it,
just sitting there in the shade, have it, having some water.
We usually would bring a little whiskey or something with us,
like probably not busy.

Speaker 4 (56:47):
Is that why he got lost?

Speaker 3 (56:49):
We didn't have whiskey for us in Candylands, but okay,
other chips yet.

Speaker 4 (56:53):
But it's just nice secard to take it.

Speaker 1 (56:55):
We'll dehydrate you more. Oh yeah, so you probably don't
want to do that.

Speaker 3 (56:58):
But just take in the sea, it's surrounding, it's beautiful.
Just unplug and just sit back, kick your feet up
and wait for it to get a little cooler out. Yeah,
like we said, Solo hiking in such conditions carries a
lot of highris to future. Park publications and newsless newsletters
discussing summer hiking have cited cases like Bryces to remind
visitors about the dangers of extreme heat, dehydration, and solo travel.

(57:22):
Off trail hikers are now strongly encouraged to carry navigational tools, maps, compass, GPS,
and even personal locator beacons in remote areas so that
a minor navigation area doesn't turn deadly. Gilly's mistake of
going down the wrong drainage is a common way hikers
get in trouble in the Grand Canyons maze of side canyons,

(57:44):
and his story has been used to caution others. If
you realize your off route, do not keep descending deeper.
It's often safer to stop, conserve energy, maybe backtrack, or
wait for help rather than pressing into unknown territory. In
the aftermath of Bryce Gilly's death, Grand Canyon National Park
did not announce any formal policy changes. The permit requirement

(58:08):
was already in place, but there was a reinforced push
in educational materials about backcountry safety procedures. The multi agency
response to this incident demonstrated the value of well coordinated
SAR operations, but also the tremendous effort and risk involved
in rescuing or recovering lost hikers. Gilly's case became an

(58:31):
example in the parks in park safety talks, highlighting how
even a fit, experience young hiker can fall victim to
the elements.

Speaker 4 (58:38):
And I think we can't thank the searchers enough. Every case.

Speaker 3 (58:42):
We do thank them because Bryce experienced terrible conditions in
the park, but so did the searchers looking for him.
They were out there for four days NonStop in the
same conditions and hurrying because they knew every hour the
chance of finding them alive was slimmer. So can't thank
all of those dedicated people enough for what they do

(59:03):
for unknown people they've never.

Speaker 4 (59:05):
Met in their life.

Speaker 3 (59:07):
It's amazing there's humans on this planet that do stuff
like that, because I'm sure there's a lot of people
it wouldn't but thankfully we have some tough individuals that
are willing to do this for a complete stranger they've
never met, probably never will meet in some cases. Bryce's
family and friends more in the loss of this bright

(59:30):
and compassionate young man. His obituary noted that he died
July twenty fifth, two thousand and nine, while backpacking in
Grand Canyon, and remembered his academic achievements, volunteer work, and
love of nature. In memory of Bryce, those who followed
his story have spread the message about preparation and caution
in the wilderness. Grand Canyon officials and Gilly's family hope

(59:52):
that others will heed these lessons, plan ahead, respect the
environment's dangers, and never take solo wilderness travel. As one
park bulletin put it, the tragedy ultimately emphasizes the imperative
of these safety measures for all who venture into Grand Canyons,
beautiful but unforgiving backcountry. So finally here before we sign

(01:00:15):
off for the night. So Bryce had a cell phone
with him and pretty much at no cell signal, but
he left some memos in his phone when I think
he realized he wasn't getting out of there and his family.
So months after his death, Gilly's parents received the cell
phone he had with him, It did not receive signal

(01:00:38):
in the canyon, but Gillies used it to tap out
two memos to friends and family. First memo read, life
is good, whether it is long or short. I was
fortunate enough to do and see much more than most,
and for that good fortune, I am most thankful. His
messages included dashes of humor. He wrote that he was

(01:00:59):
thankful he had his BlackBerry because it was easier to
use use it instead of chiseling a message in the rocks.
He said he believed in God and was unsure what
the afterlife held, but he wrote, I hope there is water.
So it is funny that he was still cracking jokes.

Speaker 1 (01:01:19):
Yeah, it sounds like he do feel better about Yeah,
he was like at peace.

Speaker 2 (01:01:25):
Happy, like he knew it was.

Speaker 4 (01:01:26):
It was.

Speaker 1 (01:01:27):
It's scary to think about just being alone there and
having to accept your mortality.

Speaker 4 (01:01:32):
Yeah, Like at what point you're sitting there, I'm done?

Speaker 1 (01:01:34):
Yeah, And to still have some humor in it, some humor,
some positive like he knows his family's gonna probably see it.

Speaker 4 (01:01:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (01:01:42):
So in the final message, right before the battery on
his phone died, he typed out the final sentence, he said,
I feel like going into the wild is a calling
all feel some answer and some die for. That was
the last message he left in the phone. Pretty intense story,
tragic story.

Speaker 1 (01:02:02):
I'm like happy he got his messages out.

Speaker 4 (01:02:04):
Yeah, that's amazing.

Speaker 1 (01:02:05):
If you can ask for any silver lining to this
whole story of like tragedy, it's that he got his
messages out, that his family saw.

Speaker 4 (01:02:12):
It, and I think in a way that.

Speaker 3 (01:02:16):
It probably made it a little easier for his family.
It would for me when they finally rid it, be like, wow,
he went out still cracking jokes. Yeah, and he was
seemed at peace with what was about to happen. And
there's no way around it. This was a terrible tragedy
for the family. But yeah, at least there's closure in
that they found his remains, which is not usually a

(01:02:39):
case yeah episodes we.

Speaker 2 (01:02:41):
Cover, Yeah, it's pretty rare for the ones we cover.

Speaker 3 (01:02:43):
Yeah, and he was able to get this message out
to his family and friends, and you can get a
glimpse of where his head was at near the end,
which is crazy.

Speaker 1 (01:02:52):
I think about in like pretty good spirits. Yeah, given
the scenario and what he knew was going to happen.

Speaker 3 (01:02:57):
So it's incredible for just twenty such a young guy,
Like seriously, to have that kind of worldview and that
kind of strength in the face of your own mortality
is pretty amazing for anyone, let alone a twenty year old.

Speaker 2 (01:03:13):
Yeah. Pretty crazy.

Speaker 1 (01:03:14):
I can't imagine I would have wrote something like that.
I probably wouldn't even thought about it.

Speaker 4 (01:03:19):
No, Yeah, I don't know. Pretty wildcase.

Speaker 2 (01:03:22):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:03:23):
Thanks again for tuning into our show. We appreciate all
of you for listening and sharing locations unknown with your
friends and family. Be sure to like and follow us
on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, where you can find
the videos of each episode. Also, if you'd like to
support the show monetarily, please visit our website or Facebook
store to buy some cool sweat keep saying swag Merch, Merch,
cool Merch. Additionally, you can subscribe to our patron account

(01:03:45):
on YouTube and Apple, where you'll have access to special
events and additional shows for paid customers only. Lastly, when
enjoying the beauty of nature, whether backpacking, camping, or simply
taking a walk, always remember to leave no trace. Thanks
and we will see you all next time.

All Episodes

Bryce Gillies - Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

Dateline NBC

24/7 News: The Latest

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Bryce Gillies - Grand Canyon National Park - Arizona