CNN
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The Arizona National Guard rescued more than 100 people from a flooded area of ​​Grand Canyon National Park on Sunday as the search for a missing hiker continued.

National Guard members used a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter to evacuate 104 tourists and tribal members from a canyon on Havasupai tribal land in the park on Saturday, according to a video from the Arizona National Guard.

Due to flooding caused by monsoon storms, local authorities were forced to close the area to tourists on Thursday and several emergency evacuations were also carried out.

Tribal leaders have also cordoned off the remote village of Supai, 13 kilometers below the rim of the Grand Canyon, the Havasupai Tribal Council said in a press release on Saturday.

On Thursday, 33-year-old hiker Chenoa Nickerson was swept into Havasu Creek during flash flooding in Grand Canyon National Park, according to the National Park Service, and search and rescue efforts continued Sunday.

Nickerson, of Gilbert, Arizona, may have been swept away in the flash floods near the mouth of the Colorado River, according to a park service press release on Friday.

Nickerson was not wearing a life jacket at the time, the press release said.

Several hikers were stranded during the flash flood early Thursday afternoon, the park service said. A rescue flight was dispatched to rescue the stranded hikers below and above Beaver Falls, but Nickerson remained missing, the news release said.

The National Park Service described Nickerson as 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information about her is asked to call the park service’s investigative hotline.

Her sister Tamara Morales said, according to CNN partner KNXV: “We continue to hope that she will be found safely.”

Nickerson’s husband was rescued safely, Morales told KNXV.

“We love her very much and we will not give up on her,” Morales said of her sister. “We want all efforts to focus on the search and finding her safely.”

According to KNXV, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has activated the Arizona National Guard to assist with rescue efforts on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, which is surrounded by Grand Canyon National Park. CNN meteorologists say no rain is forecast for the area in the coming days.

A married couple from North Carolina told CNN they couldn’t have been prepared for what was about to happen while hiking through the Havasupai Indian Reservation on Thursday.

Shruti Chopra, 34, knew rain was forecast but said she did not expect severe flash flooding. “We did not even think we were in danger,” she told CNN.

She and her husband and a family of four fled to a cove to avoid getting soaked, Chopra said. While they waited for the rain to stop, they were spotted by a man on a mule, whom Chopra described as an Indian, shouting, “Higher ground! Higher ground!”

Hearing the panic in his voice and seeing how quickly the area was flooding, they began to climb. After reaching higher ground, the group of six made their way to the nearest village.

“For the next three hours, we crossed rivers, formed human chains and fought our way through thorn bushes and cacti,” Chopra said. At one point, she said, a huge boulder fell right in front of them and hit a tree, sending a large branch flying in their direction.

After arriving in the village, Chopra said they were greeted by other hikers. The National Guard took her and her husband to safety on Saturday morning.

This story has been updated with additional information.