A boy and his grandmother have been missing in the Grand Canyon since Saturday, April 15 after they went hiking together. An intense search has been organized to find 14-year-old Jackson Standefer and 62-year-old LouAnn Merrell this week, but thus far they have only found the heartbreaking last known photos of the two.
Search and rescue teams found Jackson’s GoPro and his backpack in the Grand Canyon, but no sign of him or his step-grandmother. The GoPro has what could very well be the final photos of Jackson and his grandmother. The photos, which were taken on April 15, were found by the National Parks Service and given to Jackson’s uncle. He shared the tragic final photos on Facebook.
The Grand Canyon features 2,000 square miles of dangerous terrain and lethal cliffs. The search effort used every possible resource at their disposal including helicopters and drones. The National Parks Service at the Grand Canyon is the only national park with its own fleet of five unmanned aircraft for locating lost people.
On Thursday, the National Parks Service said that it is reducing the scale of the search after five unsuccessful days of extensive searching for the boy and his grandmother.
The uncle announced that memorial services for LouAnn Merrell’s services will be held on Sunday April 23 in Vernal Utah and the “celebration of life” for Jackson Standefer will be held at the McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Wednesday April 26th.
The family said they “have been amazed at the tremendous outpouring of love from our community. It truly helps at this the most difficult of times.”