Heartbreaking update in hunt for missing 26-year-old student as body is found in Grand Canyon

By JAMES CIRRONE, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 22:57, 12 May 2026 | Updated: 23:03, 12 May 2026 The body of a missing 26-year-old graduate student was found over the weekend after he had vanished while visiting the Grand Canyon. On Saturday, the remains of Sandarsh Krishna were found near the Verkamp's Visitor Center near the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, the National Park Service (NPS) said in a statement on Tuesday. Krishna, a computer science student at Arizona State University, told relatives on April 27 he was planning to stop at the South Rim on his way to Las Vegas. He also said he was planning to be back in time for final exams and his graduation on Saturday. He was reported missing on April 28 after his family didn't hear from him. He was last seen on the Rim Trail along Hermit Road at 4pm on April 27, NPS officials said. Investigators also believed he may have used a rideshare or taxi service to get to his last known location. Around 7am on April 28, a backpack officials said belonged to Krishna was found by a hiker and given to hotel staff at Bright Angel Lodge. The Bright Angel Lodge is less than a half a mile from the visitor's center, where Krishna's body was ultimately found.  His body was transported to the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office. His death remains under investigation by the National Park Service and the medical examiner's office. His cause of death was not revealed by authorities. The body of Sandarsh Krishna, 26, was found in the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on Saturday, the National Park Service said. He had been missing since April 27, when he told his family he was visiting the national park before a trip to Las Vegas Pictured: Search and rescue responders overlook an area of the Grand Canyon on Saturday where they were looking for Krishna His family had maintained hope that Krishna was still alive, visiting the South Rim multiple times over the past week. Cellphone tower data showed Krishna's last known location was between the Bright Angel Lodge and Mohave Point on the day of his disappearance. The family had even hired their own private investigator to help find Krishna. 'We don't want to believe he's hurt,' Adarsh told KPNX, adding, 'We need a proper closure. We don't know what exactly happened to him.' Krishna had moved to Arizona from India in 2024 to pursue a master's degree in computer science at Arizona State University. His loved ones describe him as bright, kind and deeply family-oriented. 'He has a helping hand,' said his sister-in-law Pooja Shivananjappa. 'As I said, he has the heart of a kid, and we terribly miss him.' More than 30 search and rescue personnel were deployed over the past several days to look for Krishna. Krishna said he had planned to be back in time for final exams and his graduation from Arizona State University on Saturday, the day his body was found More than 30 search and rescue personnel were deployed to the Grand Canyon's South Rim to try to find Krishna Crews used a myriad of techniques to try to find Krishna, including trail scanning, walk-down routes into the canyon, technical rope insertions, aerial reconnaissance flights and drone operations, park officials have said. The Grand Canyon, one of the most popular nature attractions in the United States, is frequently ranked as the most deadly national park due to how many people die there every year. Most deaths are not from falls, but from heat stroke and dehydration thanks to how temperatures wildly fluctuate at different elevations. Temperatures at the canyon floor are often significantly hotter than at the rim, and hikers who descend in cool morning weather can find themselves trekking uphill for hours in extreme heat.  This, combined with a lack of reliable cell service throughout the canyon, can lead to dangerous outcomes for hikers. The NPS recommends that hikers rest often in the shade, stay hydrated and apply sunscreen throughout the day.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.