The bizarre disappearance of Morgan Heimer from Grand Canyon National Park

Morgan Elias Heimer, disappeared June 2, 2015, River Mile 213 near Pumpkin Springs, Colorado River, Grand Canyon National Park

Revised July 2024

Morgan Elias Heimer, 22, was working as a commercial guide for Tour West, a rafting company. The group was on day six of an eight-day trip on the Colorado River when Heimer went missing out of the blue. He was never found.

Who was Morgan Heimer?

Morgan Heimer was from Cody, Wyoming and was enrolled at the University of Wyoming, studying English. He was an experienced outdoorsman and river guide and an excellent swimmer.

The river trip to Pumpkin Springs

Morgan was last seen on Tuesday, June 2, 2015, at approximately 4 pm, around River Mile 213 near Pumpkin Springs in the Grand Canyon National Park.

Heimer told the lead guide about taking some time off that afternoon. The lead guide walked away from the cliff to talk to a client, and when he looked back, Heimer was gone. The guide assumed he'd gone on break but was never seen again.

The search for Heimer

He was reported missing at 7.26 p.m. on the same day by a member of the river trip following a swim in the river by the group after he failed to turn up for dinner. He was wearing a dark-colored Astral personal flotation device, a blue plaid long sleeve shirt, a pair of Chaco flip-flop sandals, a maroon baseball cap, and brightly colored shorts and carrying a purple water bottle.

Searchers said at the time, "He definitely has the skills and ability to perform the job and be a person we have a high likelihood to find"

Park rangers and search and rescue teams extensively searched the river between River Miles 211-225 and on land stretching from River Mile 211-215 around Pumpkin Springs. They then extended the search area to Diamond Creek, 12 miles west of Pumpkin Springs. Fellow Tour West guide service employees, clients on that river trip, and other river outfitters and their clients were interviewed. But nothing turned up, and searchers assumed he must have drowned.

What happened to Morgan Heimer?

Despite this extensive six-day search, Morgan was never seen again, and no evidence was found. What happened on that day in June 2015?

• Did he accidentally fall into the Colorado River? Was he drowned and caught in a branch or under a rock?

• Did he wander off and get lost in the wilderness? Very strange indeed for this man who was leading the tour group and was seen by the water's edge one minute and then vanished the next

The strange disappearance and death of Janet Castrejon in the Chiricahua Mountains

The strange disappearance of Ranger Paul Fugate from Arizona’s Chiricahua Monument

The shocking disappearance of GPS Joe (Joe Domin) in the Mazatzal Mt. Wilderness

The strange disappearance of Mary Sloan from Mount Graham

The strange disappearance of Drake Cramer in the Grand Canyon National Park

The strange disappearance of Glen and Bessie Hyde from the Grand Canyon National Park

The strange disappearance of Floyd Roberts in the Grand Canyon National Park (Member only)

The agonizing disappearance of Khayman Welch in Tonto National Forest

The shocking disappearance of David Barclay Miller

The tragic Carol Turner disappearance in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Sources

https://charleyproject.org/case/morgan-elias-heimer

https://www.desertusa.com/dusablog/update-missing-wyoming-man-on-colorado-river-within-grand-canyon-national-park.html