SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Seven avid hikers in safety helmets, wetsuits and climbing harnesses smiled for a group photo before heading into the mouth of a narrow canyon in Zion National Park in Utah.
The 50-something men and women from California and Nevada posed with their arms around each other before trying to climb and swim through the popular sandstone gorge. Days later, rescuers searching for their bodies found a camera that revealed the final image of the group before they died.
Hours after they entered Keyhole Canyon, dark skies unleashed fierce rains that sent water surging through the chasm, sweeping the seven people to their deaths Monday.
Their bodies were found throughout the week, the last on Thursday. It was the same day authorities recovered a 33-year-old man killed by flash flooding near the Utah-Arizona border, raising the death toll to 20 from the violent rainstorm.
At least 12 other people, including nine children, died in a nearby polygamous town when two cars were swept away. A 6-year-old boy was still missing.
Some of the seven hikers took a canyoneering skills course just before the excursion, park officials said. Others in the group knew each other through a hiking club in Valencia, California.
The photo was taken on a "tragic last adventure" for the group who regularly hiked and backpacked, the children of victims Linda and Steve Arthur said in a statement. The couple from Camarillo, California, were outdoor enthusiasts.
Steve Arthur, 58, was a sergeant and 21-year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department, sheriff's Capt. John Reilly said. He had been awarded the Medal of Valor in 1998 for rescuing a man from a burning car.
"If he wasn't at work, he was out with his kids or grandkids, hiking all the time," Reilly said. "He loved the Sierras. He loved the outdoors."
Arthur was so excited about the trip that he boasted about getting the permits for Keyhole Canyon, which only 80 people a day are allowed to visit.
"He was fortunate he was with the love of his life — his wife — they were both excited about going on these trips," sheriff's Commander Monica McGrath said. "You could see the sparkle in his eye when talking about it."
Mark MacKenzie, 56, of Valencia was an avid hiker who looked out for others, particularly in the outdoors, according to his mother, Deanna MacKenzie Sisung.
"He'd carry a watermelon in his backpack, and he'd usually be the first one up there, and he'd serve everybody," Sisung said of her son, who worked for the city of Burbank and had three kids.
Don Teichner, 55, of Mesquite, Nevada, met members of the group through a California hiking club. The father and grandfather moved out of the state earlier this year and was an executive at Almore Dye House, his family's Los Angeles-based garment-dyeing company, according to his cousin and business partner, Jeff Teichner.
Gary Favela, 51, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, was adventurous and outgoing with a love for canyoneering, his family said in a statement released Friday by park officials.
Muku Reynolds, 59, of Chino, California, had recently become a grandmother and was a passionate hiker. She was active in many Meetup.com hiking groups and spent nearly every weekend hiking, camping, climbing or backpacking, said Graham Willis, 32, who met her in one such group and summited Mount Whitney with her last summer.
He said Reynolds, who grew up in Japan, had an adventurous spirit and was well known for collecting heart-shaped rocks on trails.
Reynolds had been canyoneering in Zion three years ago with a guide, said Kathryn Burrows, 54, who hikes with her and took a beginner canyoneering course with her back then.
"We had a guide and we were taught how to do it with the ropes," Burrows said. "Since then she'd done other things too."
The pair had gone on a five-day group backpacking trip of the Rae Lakes Loop in Kings Canyon National Park just last month and talked about celebrating Reynolds' 60th birthday by hiking Machu Picchu in Peru.
During the backpacking trip Reynolds talked about the upcoming trip to Zion and was excited about it.
"She knew those guys, she has hiked with that club a lot," Reynolds said. "It's all a network of people, they might be in several hiking clubs, but everybody kind of knows everybody. It's a real cool network of people. People really trust each other."
Robin Brum, 53, a wife and mother from Camarillo, was a selfless person who cared for those around her, her family said.
"She leaves a hole in our hearts and our lives that will never be filled," a statement said.
Park officials say they warned the group about the risks when they got their permit, telling them there was a 40 percent chance of rain and some canyons would flood. Rangers give similar warnings nearly every day during the rainy season, officials say.
Park policy prevents rangers from assessing visitors' skill level or stopping them from entering canyons. Zion is investigating what led to the deaths and reviewing its policies, but the process for canyon entry permits is decided at the national level, park spokesman David Eaker said.
Rangers closed the canyons after the storm hit, but there was no way to warn those already inside the majestic slot formations, which can quickly fill with rain water and leave people with no escape.
The children of Steve and Linda Arthur said their parents were extremely cautious and had been watching weather reports closely. They texted family for updates before they headed into the canyon, but they didn't get cellphone service at the trailhead.
"This is nothing but a freak accident and a true case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time," the couple's children said.
