The torrent of water overtook the hikers in the narrow canyon at 2:30 p.m. and, when it had passed, Kathy and Gordon Chapple, both 60, of Walnut Creek, Calif., were dead and two other family members injured in the Egypt trailhead area, said Garfield County spokeswoman Becki Bronson.
"Literally, it was a matter of minutes from the time it started raining to the time it began to flood," Bronson said.
The water hit the group about a quarter-mile from the upper mouth of the canyon known as Egypt Three and swept them down the narrow canyon until it widened out to about 50 feet. There, the banged-up survivors were able to escape by clinging to the walls of the slot canyon, Bronson said.
But Kathy and Gordon Chapple had been swept away.
The survivors included the couple's adult son, Chris Chapple, and daughter-in-law, Liz Fries, 30, who suffered an injured ankle; the couple's daughter, Katie Chapple, 32, and son-in-law Tom Schrupp, 33, whose shoulder was injured; and the group's guides, Cody Clapp and Elizabeth Kleiman, of Capitol Reef Backcountry Outfitters.
Katie Chapple stayed with the injured, while Chris Chapple and the hiking guides went for help.
Garfield County sheriff's Deputy Ray Gardner said the 911 call came about 5:30 p.m. The bodies were located by helicopter at 7 p.m.
The two victims were declared dead Wednesday evening, but the bodies could not be recovered until Thursday, said Garfield County Sheriff Dan Perkins.
The injured were flown to Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George on Wednesday night where they were treated and released, Bronson said.
Friends of Gordon Chapple described him as a warm man and an effective business leader, who also had a love of nature, according to the Contra Costa Times, in Walnut Creek, Calif.
A former colleague, Randy Sieve of Dublin, said the couple was undoubtedly doing what they loved when they died.
"He was very passionate about his hobbies - photography, hiking - he was very environmentally conscious," said Sieve.
The slot canyon hiking trip culminated three days of adventure during which Capitol Reef Backcountry Outfitters, based in Torrey, had taken the Chapple family horseback riding, all-terrain vehicle riding and on other outdoor activities, Clapp told The Salt Lake Tribune on Thursday morning.
Clapp, a guide since 1994, is the founder of the company and guides tourists every season, according to the company Web site. Kleiman has been guiding for about 10 years, the site says, and is also a registered nurse.
Clapp declined to say more about the fatal flash flood.
Police officials said the group started on the day hike at 10:30 a.m. at the Egypt Three area, about 26 miles south of State Route 12 off the Hole-in-the-Rock Road, a dirt-and-gravel track that begins about five miles east of Escalante.
Clapp had checked the weather forecast before Wednesday's hike, and was not overly concerned about flooding, said Gardner. Clapp told the deputy that it started raining lightly where the group was hiking before the flood hit.
"The slick rock in those canyons can't absorb hardly any precipitation," Gardner said. "There's no place for it to soak in so even a light precipitation can produce some flooding."
Gardner said the canyon narrows to just two feet wide in places. He said everyone on the hike was captured and swept away by the water sending them tumbling and brushing against the abrasive canyon walls.
"Everyone received some scrapes on their elbows and arms," said Gardner. "They took quite a beating and were exhausted."
-NATE CARLISLE contributed to this report.
