Authorities say body found in the Grand Canyon is young Latina who mysteriously disappeared in April

Twenty-two year old Diana Zacarías disappeared April 2 in the South Rim of the park. She sent a message to her family saying she wouldn’t be returning. They never heard from her again.

Imagen Alejandro Zacarías

Authorities in Arizona have confirmed that the body found Saturday is Diana Zacarías, the 22-year-old from Louisiana who disappeared mysteriously in Grand Canyon National Park in April. Grand Canyon ranger Brandon Torres told Univision Friday that dental records were a match.

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The body was found on Saturday near Pima Point, according to The Arizona Republic.

Park officials reported the body was found during a regular training day. “The hope was that we would find her alive,” said Kirby-Lyn Shedlowski, Grand Canyon National Park spokeswoman.

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The remains were sent to the Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office for official identification and an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

Zacarías, originally from Natchitoches, Louisiana, was last seen in the South Rim of the park, where she visited Yaki Point and Lookout Studio. She was planning to visit the park the day of her return flight, Saturday, April 2. That day, she sent a text message mother, saying that she would not be going to the airport for her return flight.

Her parents thought she may have decided to stay longer. But they never heard from her again.

Her father, Alejandro Zacarías, announced the disappearance April 3. That day, he began a 20-hour trip to search for his daughter in the Grand Canyon.

Video Searching for Diana last seen at the Grand Canyon

A month after Diana’s disappearance, her mother found notes in the family’s home written by Diana, with an itinerary of her plans for the second day of her trip. Diana had planned to hike Bright Angel trail and visit the Havasupai tribe, located 150 miles from the Grand Canyon.

It was the first trip Diana had taken on her own, and her parents supported her desire to fulfill a dream. “I was so proud of her, seeing her smiling and happy, making her dream come true,” her father told Univision News, “buying her clothes, her backpack, her jacket. It was a big dream and she believed this would be a great challenge and that it would serve to motivate her."

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"My daughter was an angel, always at home with us. She was a very quiet girl. She did not have much of social life, always very studious. She got straight A’s in college," Alejandro told Univision News.

Each year, between 12 and 15 people die in the Grand Canyon. In July, a 35-year-old woman died after losing her balance and falling off a cliff where she walked with her friends.

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